Presentation by Primary Information Services www.primaryinfo.com mailto:primaryinfo@gmail.com

1. Agri Reforms
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Confrontation !
Compromise ?

2. The Farmers (Empowerment
and Protection) Agreement of
Price Assurance and Farm
Services Bill, 2020 is meant for a
national framework on farming agreements
that protects and empowers farmers to
engage with agri-business firms,
processors, wholesalers, exporters or
large retailers for farm services and sale
of future farming produce at a mutually
agreed remunerative price framework in a
transparent manner.

3. Union Home Minister Amit
Shah expressed gratitude to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
today for the passage of two
crucial bills on agricultural
reforms in the Lok Sabha and
said the proposed
legislations will free
farmers from the
clutches of middlemen
and help them overcome
other obstacles.

4. What are the aims of the bills?
•The Bills aim to do away with government interference in agricultural trade by creating trading
areas outside the structure of Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs).
•One of the bills aims at removing restrictions of private stockholding (under Essential
Commodities Act 1955) of agricultural produce.
•One of the bills deals with the regulation of contract farming.
Issues with the Bills
•The government has failed to hold any discussion with the various stakeholders including farmers
and middlemen.
•The attempt to pass the Bills without proper consultation adds to the mistrust among various
stakeholders including State governments.
•Farmer organisations see these Bills as an attempt to weaken the APMCs and eventual
withdrawal of the Minimum Support Prices (MSP).
•Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have genuine concern about the continuance of the MSP-based
public procurement given the large-scale procurement operations in these States

5. Understanding the role of APMC
•APMCs do play an important role of price discovery essential for
agricultural trade and production choices.
•The middlemen are a part of the larger ecosystem of agricultural trade,
with deep links between farmers and traders.
•The preference for corporate interests at the cost of farmers’ interests
and a lack of regulation in these non-APMC mandis are cause for concern.
•To understand the role of APMC, consider the example of Bihar.
•After Bihar abolished APMCs in 2006, farmers in Bihar on average
received lower prices compared to the MSP for most crops.
•Despite the shortcomings and regional variations, farmers still see the
APMC mandis as essential to ensuring the survival of MSP regime.
More resources at
https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/agricultural-marketing-reforms/