The government’s decision to create a common e-market platform for farmers will remove inter-state barriers in moving farm produce and could be a game changer, according to analysts.
It has two important pre-requisites —an amendment of the state Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC) and physical logistic support which is crucial to enable the farmer to move his crop.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on Monday that a Unified Agricultural Marketing e-platform will be dedicated to the nation on April 14. The amendments to the APMC Act is a prerequisite to joining this platform and Mr. Jaitley said that 12 states have already amended this Act. It empowers state governments to notify the commodities, and designate markets and market areas where the regulated wholesale trade takes place.
Ambarish Dasgupta, president of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry and partner & head management consulting, KPMG, said this would benefit farmers only if states back them with the logistic support necessary to move the goods that they have sold on the unified platform.
Rajiv Singh, secretary general of International Chamber of Commerce said that if implemented well the initiative could benefit farmers and consumers alike by ensuring fair prices.
Krish Iyer, President & CEO Walmart India, was upbeat about these proposals, describing them as “bold and forward looking.” This, alongwith the proposal on opening up the agri-marketing sector to foreign capital for marketing food products produced and manufactured in India, would while creating vast employment opportunities, Mr. Iyer said.
Kumar Kandaswami, Partner, Deloitte India said this was a “big game changer.”
