New Delhi, Sep 17 (UNI) Farmer agreements or contract farming, as referred to historically, is a well known concept across the world and in India for decades. It provides multiple benefits to farmers including improved market linkage, access to new technology and security against market fluctuations, as well as for overall the agriculture sector including private investment across the supply chain and improved quality of produce.
These benefits in turn lead to a risk-free higher income and a better quality of life for farmers.
Further, contract farming has been identified as one of the key enablers in multiple Planning Commission reports as well as implemented by multiple states under the state APMC Act. There are multiple farmers across the country benefiting from farmer agreements today.
Over the last two decades, multiple successful contract farming projects have been supported by governments across the country.
The reform process, inter alia, including setting up of private markets, direct marketing, contract farming, single point levy of market fee, unified single trading license and also the e-markets. Then government kept the pursuing with the states to adopt the Model Act, 2003 and Model Rules, 2007.
Haryana, under the leadership of CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Congress, launched the contract farming scheme in 2007.
The UPA government led by Congress after coming into power in 2004 started persuasion with the states to adopt the Model APMC Act 2003 to liberalize the state agricultural marketing laws.
The UPA government also formulated the Model APMC Rules 2007 for implementation of Model APMC Act 2003 by States and circulated to all State and UTs also for adoption.
As many as 19 states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh,Goa, Gujarat, Haryana , HP, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttarakhand have already made provisions for contract farming under state APMC Act .
Three states including Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Odisha have released separate contract farming act.
As per media reports, the Congress just before 2014 Lok Sabha election publicly announced that Congress ruled states should de-notify the fruits and vegetables from the APMC Act. In pursuance, Congress ruled states of Karnataka, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalya and Haryana de-notified the F & V.
Congress in its manifesto 2019 also mentioned that “Congress will repeat the Agricultural Produce Market Committee’s Act.
Eleventh Five Year Plan, 2007-2012, released under the UPA government tenure, acknowledged “Contract farming, which is being encouraged by many States, also provides a mechanism for improving linkages between farmers and markets through the active involvement of the private sector, which can also serve as a supplier of key inputs and extension advice.”
Twelfth Five Year Plan, 2012-2017, released under the UPA government tenure, acknowledged “The introduction of the Model Act in 2003 was directed towards allowing private market yards, direct buying and selling, and also to promote and regulate contract farming in high-value agriculture with a view to boost private sector investment in developing new regularised markets, logistics and warehouse receipt systems, and in infrastructure such as cold storage facilities. ‘
