Missed opportunity

The draft National Policy on Agricultural Marketing highlights challenges in markets but offers no long-term solutions beyond privatisation

- SHAGUN

INDIA'S DRAFT National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing has reignited concerns among farmer groups, who view it as a renewed push towards the privatisation of wholesale markets—the critical first point of sale for their produce. These markets are not just trading hubs; they determine the demand and prices of all crops and, ultimately, the livelihoods of farmers. For Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of 32 farmer unions that led the nationwide year-long protests in 2020-21 against the now-repealed farm laws, the draft policy feels eerily familiar. In a press release, the group called it a “backdoor resurrection” of the very laws that sparked the protests because it will “hand over control” of agriculture and the supply chain “to a few corporates.”

The draft policy was released on November 25, 2024, with a short window of just 14 days for comments.

It says that India has 7,057 Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets, or mandis, regulated under APMC laws enacted in 27 states and three Union Territories. Alongside these, there are 125 private wholesale markets and around 500 unregulated wholesale markets, mostly in states without APMC laws such as Bihar and Kerala. The country also has grameen haats and other small markets that are either under APMC, or run by private players and local bodies.