What did Indian farmers loose with scrap of new farmer law ?

Under the pressure of Indian farmers agitations central Indian  Govt scraped the new agriculture produce marketing law in year 2021. With the scrap of these laws farmers lost a new wave of development in Indian agriculture sector. To make the Indian agriculture attractive for new investment it requires a lot changes. Exiting Indian agriculture produce marketing laws were drafted and passed before green revolution and globalization.  Central Indin Govt drafted these agriculture law and passed from Indian parliament for the assistance of Indian farmers in year 2020. These laws were Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

 

In today’s scenario these existing APMC laws has emerged as barrior between farmers and consumers. Consumers can be end consumers, other state traders, food processing factories, agriculture commodity exporters, and commodity stockiest.  They can’t contact directly with farmers to buy produce. Buyers will require a local market committee registration. Though these boundation are not for farmers. Indian Farmer can sell his produce to anyone and anywhere but anyone can’t buy stock directly from farmers. 

Due to financial limitation and trade complexity farmer can’t deal directly with buyer. Delay of buying process cost to farmers/producer. Due to complexity of existing agriculture produce market laws new investor don’t invest in agriculture. Today farmers need a support for both backward market linkages (buying of farm inputs) and forward market linkages (selling of farm produces).

Today Indian farmer has become Information technology friendly he wants to grab latest agriculture technology and profitable crops but he becomes demoralised due to unavailability of the fast marketing facility. He can’t do the forward contract with specific buyer in advance on defined price. As per law all the agriculture commodities need to be auctioned in market for selling. Organic farming is increasing India. But market in not available for Indian farmers with full capacity. Organic farming can give an advantage to Indian agriculture sector at global agriculture market and trade. 

Even market committee infrastructure is not sufficient for peak season arrival. Farm produce remain in open sometimes it get damaged due to rain. There is no 100 % covered yard. Sometimes unwanted charges are put a farmers end like cleaning charges, weighing charges, mandi labour union charges. Under the table function of market yards are under control of traders and yard labours. 

Farmers must come with fresh idea and discussion. This movement must be started specially by the new generation youth farmers. They should come together and start fresh communication with government. Ask govt to provide solution for independent direct agriculture produce market in the form of new law as per global trade and business requirement. This will also lead to fresh investment in Indian agriculture sector. Indian agriculture needs investment, infrastructure, and innovation.