NEW DELHI: Nearly three years after repealing reform-oriented farm laws due to farmers’ protests, the Center has now come up with a draft national policy framework on agricultural marketing that suggests states move towards “unified unification “. national agricultural products market“through a single license/registration and single fee system.
Allow the creation of private wholesale markets; allow direct wholesale purchasing by processors, exporters, organized retailers and bulk buyers from the farm; declare warehouses/silos/cold rooms as a considered market; allow the establishment and operation of a private electronic commerce platform; single statewide market rate tax; and rationalization of market fees and commissions are some of the other key suggestions of the government to reform the agricultural market.
The draft was published by the Ministry of Agriculture last month seeking feedback from stakeholders for wider consultation. It was prepared by a committee set up under the chairmanship of Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, additional secretary (marketing), Ministry of Agriculture.
Although states/UTs have started adopting one or the other such measure in a limited or uneven manner, the draft suggests uniformity across the country and advocates constituting an “empowered agricultural marketing reform committee” of state ministers similar to a such committee on GST to pressure the states to adopt the reform provisions.
The draft notes that such a joint panel can help build consensus among states to move towards a unified national market, and suggests a “permanent secretariat” similar to that of the GST-empowered committee.
He says the committee may consider proposing a law for agricultural marketing, uniform market rate and other such issues for the benefit of farmers and barrier-free agricultural trade with an “ease of doing trade” approach.
The draft emphasizes that the key idea behind the proposal is to “build a vibrant marketing ecosystem in the country where farmers of all categories find a market of their choice to get the best price for their produce.”
Recognition of business licenses from another state (business license reciprocity); deregulation of perishable products off the market; exemption from market rate on direct sale by farmers; and exemption from market rate on products brought from other states for processing are some of the other suggestions in the draft policy.
Underscoring the importance of continued focus on creating digital public infrastructure using blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning to strengthen supply chain processes from farm to warehouse, the draft says the mission of the proposal is to “establish a mechanism to mitigate market and price uncertainties.”
As such, the draft proposal talks about developing an improvised version of e-NAM in the form of a Digital Marketing Portal as part of a broader market package. He says that in the new dynamics of marketing, there is a need to create end-to-end value chain-centric infrastructure and digital infrastructure for “effective and transparent marketing delivery.” “The VCCI will lead to integration of supply chains and reduction of transaction costs,” the 39-page draft says.
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