Deregulation of produce market from APMC is bound to fail, thanks to haphazard arrangements

When a cart is put ahead of the horse, neither manages much progress. That’s the best that can be said about the Maharashtra government’s decision to deregulate the vegetables and fruits market, freeing the farmers from the clutches of the agricultural produce market committees (APMCs). Farmers have been told that they no longer have to be at the mercy of the commission agents who manipulate prices and instead, they can sell directly to the consumer. After a strike by APMCs, it was agreed that buyers and not farmers should pay agents their commission. And yet, Maharashtra Times reported on Tuesday that at the APMC in Vashi, which is the biggest APMC in Maharashtra, the consumers’ demand is so high that around 60 percent of the farmers’ produce continues to be sold there. The report said that auctions are being held “in stealth”. The only reason for this is the fact that the government had not made adequate preparations of alternate ways through which farmers can bypass the APMCs. [caption id=“attachment_2945252” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] When the announcement of the change was made a month ago, Firstpost had asked: “How would the farmers move their produce and where would they sell them in a city that is so short of space?” Sidewalks are already overcrowded. Thane and Mumbai civic bodies identified some spots but it took time to clear them and this time lapse worried the farmers. The well-meant ‘free-the-farmer’ project seems to have stumbled soon after the photo-op events. Remember the photos of Agriculture Minister Sadabhau Khot, and another of a Shetkari Sanghatana leader helping farmers sell their produce? So the ‘launch’ was successful but not surprisingly, the horse later stumbled. It is mindboggling that 60 percent of the farmers continue to deal via the APMC. It is known that the farmers gain nothing even though consumers end up paying more. Given that farmers are in debt because they don’t get proper price for their product – and who else but the commission agents and wholesalers could be the natural suspects — is it possible that they are in the thrall of moneylenders who extend loans to them? The government should look into this as it has a policy of licensing moneylenders and just about anybody cannot extend a loan. Neither did the government nor its agencies familiarise the farmers with life in the cities. In a city where retailers abound and hawkers appropriate spaces just about anywhere, how are farmers supposed to pick a spot to set up their stalls? How will they deal with the conflict with existing retail hawkers? A consumer may crave lower prices, but he or she will find it tough to go to a market eight kilometres away because of the exigencies of urban life. The state government didn’t inform towns and cities in time to ready locations for farmers’ markets because of which these urban areas had to act quickly. In Thane, for instance, places were identified for daily sales of fruits and vegetable. But farmers who have been working with the APMC were unprepared to find reliable platforms to sell without the committee’s help. The response was so poor in Thane that the spots were turned into a weekly market. It’s not the fault of the growers that the free-the-farmer project is on the road to failure; the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of policy makers.