Make farmers feel secureJust after the independence a big portion of what the consumer spent on food reached the farmer. Now, only a small part reaches him while major part goes to middlemen. This is because as per the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act (APMC Act), a farmer must take his produce to a `market yard` and sell it through middlemen. No wonder, then, that a farmer gets only a meager share of what the consumer pays.
The APMC Act, passed in 1954, needs to be scrapped or substantially amended. The central government prepared a Model APMC Act in 2003. which provides for direct selling by farmers, contract farming and aims to remove interstate barriers for movement of food products - or implement it faithfully due to vested interests.
There are exceptions. Andhra Pradesh has started `Raythu Bazar` (farmer`s market) where farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers at select locations in the city. ITC, meanwhile, has started an `e-chaupal` scheme to provide internet connectivity to farmers so that they can decide to sell their produce directly to supermarkets or through market yards. The scheme covers four million farmers in nine states.
However, neither these exceptions nor modifying the APMC Act will be enough. To prevent a big part of food products from perishing during sto-rage and transportation we need to develop cold chains for storage and transportation all over the country on a massive scale.
BARC scientists have proved that gamma rays increase the storage life of food pro-ducts like onions. And scientists at CSIO in Chandigarh have developed a high voltage process to disinfect milk in seconds. This will replace the current method of pasteurisation and save a huge amount of energy. But farmers just cannot afford cold storage or gamma ray equipment. Nationalised banks should step in and create a network of food banks to make storage facilities available to farmers on a rental basis. Farmers can then safely store their produce in these food banks and sell only when the market rate is remunerative. They can also get loans for buying seeds, fertilisers and pesticides from the banks.
Unseasonal rains, famine or pests can hit farmers anytime and so in order to prevent such calamities from devastating them, insurance companies should come forward with different schemes to give insurance cover to farmers so that they can protect their incomes.
Contract farming is another idea where some companies have already made forays, sourcing produce from farmers under contract and selling them under their own brand names. Thus more such initiatives are required to make our farmers feel secure.
The APMC Act, passed in 1954, needs to be scrapped or substantially amended. The central government prepared a Model APMC Act in 2003. which provides for direct selling by farmers, contract farming and aims to remove interstate barriers for movement of food products - or implement it faithfully due to vested interests.
There are exceptions. Andhra Pradesh has started `Raythu Bazar` (farmer`s market) where farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers at select locations in the city. ITC, meanwhile, has started an `e-chaupal` scheme to provide internet connectivity to farmers so that they can decide to sell their produce directly to supermarkets or through market yards. The scheme covers four million farmers in nine states.
However, neither these exceptions nor modifying the APMC Act will be enough. To prevent a big part of food products from perishing during sto-rage and transportation we need to develop cold chains for storage and transportation all over the country on a massive scale.
BARC scientists have proved that gamma rays increase the storage life of food pro-ducts like onions. And scientists at CSIO in Chandigarh have developed a high voltage process to disinfect milk in seconds. This will replace the current method of pasteurisation and save a huge amount of energy. But farmers just cannot afford cold storage or gamma ray equipment. Nationalised banks should step in and create a network of food banks to make storage facilities available to farmers on a rental basis. Farmers can then safely store their produce in these food banks and sell only when the market rate is remunerative. They can also get loans for buying seeds, fertilisers and pesticides from the banks.
Unseasonal rains, famine or pests can hit farmers anytime and so in order to prevent such calamities from devastating them, insurance companies should come forward with different schemes to give insurance cover to farmers so that they can protect their incomes.
Contract farming is another idea where some companies have already made forays, sourcing produce from farmers under contract and selling them under their own brand names. Thus more such initiatives are required to make our farmers feel secure.
No comments:
Post a Comment