STATES/UTs MEET
TO DECIDE ON AGRI-MARKETING REFORM
The Union Agriculture Ministry has convened a meeting tomorrow
of the Ministers/Secretaries dealing with Agricultural Marketing
in all States/union Territories for consultations on implementing
marketing reform in the country. The Union Agriculture Minister,
Shri Ajit Singh will preside over the Conference which has been
convened following recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Task
Force on Agricultural Marketing Reform in the country. The conference
is scheduled to discuss legislative and policy reform in agricultural
marketing; market infrastructure development; pledge financing,
marketing credit and negotiable warehousing receipt system; extension,
training, research and information technology in agricultural
marketing.
With increasing food production and new challenges due to globalisation
and liberalised trade regime, agricultural marketing has become
an important issue requiring high investment and entrepreneural
skills for creating and managing marketing infrastructure. The
Government has promoted organized marketing of agricultural commodities
in the country through a network of regulated markets. Most of
the State Governments and Union Territories have enacted legislations
to provide for development of agricultural produce markets. Studies,
however, indicate that institutions of regulated markets have
achieved a limited success in providing need-based amenities and
services conducive to efficient marketing.
To review the present system of agricultural marketing in the
country and to recommend measures to make the system more efficient
and competitive, Union Agricultural Ministry appointed an expert
committee during December, 2002. The Committee in its report submitted
in June, 2001, suggested several legislative reforms relating
to agricultural marketing systems as well as in policy and programmes.
The Ministry subsequently constituted a Task Force under the Chairmanship
of Shri R.C.A. Jain, the then Additional Secretary in the Union
Agriculture and Cooperation Department with a view to implement
the recommendations of the expert committee. The Task Force submitted
its report on 18th January, 2002 suggesting a number
of measures to be adopted for strengthening of Agricultural Marketing
in the country. Some of the suggestions are:
a) Promotion of competitive markets in private
and cooperative sector, direct marketing and contract farming
programmes by amending the State Agricultural Produce Marketing
Regulation Acts and to provide central assistance for the development
of marketing infrastructure linked to such deregulation and reforms;
b) Progressive dismantling of controls and
regulations under the Essential Commodities Act to remove all
restrictions on production, supply, storage and movement of, and
trade and commerce in all agricultural commodities;
c) Subsequently step up flow of institutional
credit to farmers for marketing of crops (pledge financing) and
to enhance their holding capacity to obtain remunerative price
for their produce;
d) Expand availability of warehousing services
in rural areas including by introducing negotiable warehousing
receipt system for agricultural commodities;
e) Allow futures trading in all agricultural
commodities to improve price risk management and facilitate price
discovery by amending the Forward Contracts (Regulations) Act,
1952;
f) To promote use of information technology
in agricultural marketing to provide market led extension services
to farmers and to re-orient training and extension systems to
assist farming community to respond to emerging challenges in
agricultural marketing and to create an ambience of good marketing
practices in the country.
