India: Dwindling arrivals, revenues, is this the end for APMCs?

Published 2022년 2월 20일

Tridge summary

Karnataka farmer Chowda Reddy's experience with a defaulting aggregator highlights the challenges faced by farmers due to the 2020 amendment to the APMC Act. The amendment, similar to farm laws in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, and still in effect despite the central laws' repeal, has led to the creation of two distinct markets for agricultural produce: regulated APMC markets and unregulated direct purchase centers.

This amendment has resulted in a significant drop in produce arrivals and APMC revenue, leading to the layoff of half of the contractual staff in these markets. Despite these challenges, some APMCs have shown success, such as those specializing in tomatoes, chillies, and copra. Social activists suggest that supporting farmers and improving transparency within APMC markets can combat malpractices and enhance their effectiveness. They also recommend the establishment of more APMCs and simplifying licensing procedures to increase participation and address the shortcomings of the current model.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Chowda Reddy, a farmer in Chokkampalli village in Bagepalli taluk of Chikkaballapur district, had no strong feelings about Karnataka government’s amendment to the APMC Act in 2020. He grows a variety of vegetables and sells them at either the Bagepalli Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard or the farm gate to aggregators. “I thought it won’t make any difference to me until October last year when I experienced the downside,” he says. A private aggregator failed to pay the amount after purchasing the harvest of coriander leaves worth Rs 2.9 lakh. He had agreed to pay Rs 2,000 for each bag of produce before transporting the crop from the land. The harvest took place over three days. On the first two days, the aggregator paid Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000 for a lot of 45 to 50 bags. On the third day, Chowda Reddy stopped the truck in the farm. Later, he involved the police when the aggregator sent his men to release the truck by force. After two months of negotiations, Chowda ...

Source: Deccan Herald