Indian farmers won't be able to sell veggies direct any time soon

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan seems to be dithering on whether or not farmers should be allowed t…

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan seems to be dithering on whether or not farmers should be allowed to sell their crop outside the agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) setup.

This means, consumers may not be able to get their hands on reasonably-priced vegetables and fruits brought in by cultivators in the near future. Chavan said the government needs more time to discuss the issue with various stakeholders. "Since our country has adopted a liberal economy, we need to deliberate if farmers should be permitted to circumvent the existing wholesale or agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) market system," said Chavan.

Consumers' dream of buying fresh vegetables and fruits brought in by farmers from their gardens at cheaper rates avoiding the 'costly' route is still away. How to offer farmers a choice of direct sell of their agriculture produce (such as vegetables and fruits) to consumers or allow them to fully avoid the wholesale markets is still an issue before the state despite facing criticism over heavy price rises in the recent past.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said his administration was discussing with the stake holders as to how to give a choice of direct selling of vegetables to farmers. "Since our country has adopted liberal economy, it is needed to be discussed whether to allow farmers to avoid the existing wholesale or agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) market system," said Chavan. He said state was not also intending to completely abolish the broker and trader system in the APMC and was intended at taking all stake holders into confidence.

When asked as to how state would implement on this choice in the absence of infrastructure, Chavan admitted that the state would have to create storage centres and facilities to cater to the farmers' needs. "We are taking efforts to expand and strengthen the APMCs' infrastructure like godowns, storage areas and facilities to disinfect the produce," the CM said.