BENGALURU: Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) will now regulate the marketing of notified agriculture produce within its yards in the state. The Legislative Council on Friday passed the Karnataka APMC (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to repeal the amendments made to the Act during the previous BJP government.
The Bill was earlier passed in the Legislative Assembly. Shivanand Patil, Minister of Textiles, Sugarcane Development and Directorate of Sugar, Agricultural Marketing from the Co-operation Department, said members of the Assembly and Council visited several APMCs and also held discussions with members of farmers’ organisations and incorporated their suggestions. However, some people like rice mill associations had expressed concerns, he said.
Patil said APMCs have around 8,584 acres of property worth around 8,000 crore, but for the last three-and-a-half years, they are not doing business. The amendment will help farmers and also restore the glory of APMCs, Patil said.
The amendment to the Act was made during the previous BJP government allowing trading outside APMC yards. The Congress opposed the changes as farmers will be prone to exploitation by traders in the absence of a regulatory mechanism. The flow of revenue to the government under different heads of taxes has been affected as trading was not taking place at APMC yards.
While there is a mechanism under the APMC Act for the settlement of disputes between farmers and functionaries at APMC yards regarding weight and payment made for the produce sold, the same dispute redressal mechanism is not available for transactions made outside APMC yards, the Bill said.