APMCs

Improvements can reduce food price spikes

Traders across 230 major Agriculture Produce Market Committees in Madhya Pradesh started an indefinite strike from Monday over various demands including reduction in mandi (market) fee currently being charged at the rate of 1.5 per cent, a confederation of traders said. Gopaldas Agrawal, president of the Madhya Pradesh Sakal Anaj Dalhan Tilhan Vyapari Mahasangh, said they have been demanding for a long time that the mandi fee being charged at 1.5 per cent from traders on purchase of crop produce from farmers be reduced. "But, the state government has been deceiving us every time on this issue despite assurances, he claimed. Agrawal said their other demands include slashing the lease rent of government plots allotted to traders in mandi premises and ending the collection of destitute assistance fee. Till these demands are not accepted, nearly 40,000 traders across 230 mandis of the state will neither buy nor sell the produce (of farmers), he said. He claimed that trade worth at lea

State-level agencies and cooperatives are also eligible for loans up to Rs 2 cr to build farm gate storage infra and processing facilities at interest subvention of 3%

Poor fleet utilisation, lack of return loads weighs on capacity of transporters to repay truck loans, puts question mark on business viability

Kumar has supported the centre's three new farm laws having similar contents

Sukhpal Singh, a professor at the Centre for Management in Agriculture at IIM Ahmedabad, says that the new Acts not only bypass mandis, but make it riskier for farmers to sell to anyone

80% of states have had some sort of reforms to their APMCs, but most of these were partial, on pick-and-choose basis and defeated the goal of creating a uniform trade environment across the country

Farmer unions say they will not accept anything less than repeal of three laws, plan to block highways linking Delhi

A breakthrough in the farmer unions' key demand for an assurance on continuation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement system is also said to be in the works

These issues have assumed greater importance after the government allowed farmers to directly sell their produce to processors and traders

Large and mid-sized firms are likelt to save some costs using this mechanism, some of which will be passed on to farmers

He says that the APMC system did not evolve with changes in time and requirement

For this, the govt will use Entry 42 of the Union list, along with Entry 33 of the Concurrent List, to frame a legislation

Farmers allowed to sell 46 fruits and vegetables directly without bringing them to mandis

Bar on inter-city movement. Those coming from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai will have to find a place to stay in Navi Mumbai itself

With normal monsoon forecast this year, they want to take advantage of pre-monsoon showers

Guidelines allow some farming from April 20 during the national lockdown to contain the coronavirus.

Farmer need only bring samples of their produce; post auction they can mutually decide with buyers on whether delivery will be from the farm gate or from some agreed warehouse

The bulk of new cases were reported in Mumbai; APMC, Vashi fruit and vegetable market to shut

Vegetable mandis complaint of lower off-take and glut, grains closed or staggered operations