The three-member committee also recommended repealing the mandi fees charged by Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) in order to reduce the cost of merchant purchases and enable farmers to achieve higher returns.
The Supreme Court-appointed commission, which has reviewed the now-repealed three controversial agricultural laws, has called for an indefinite end to the purchase of agricultural crops by limiting the purchase of rice and wheat at a minimum support price (MSP) and introduce a price stabilization. fund for other key crops instead of MRO support.
The three-member committee also recommended repealing the mandi fees charged by Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) in order to reduce the cost of merchant purchases and enable farmers to achieve higher returns.
Purchasing crops at the declared MSP may be the prerogative of the states, the commission said.
Farmers, who protested agriculture laws on Delhi’s borders for more than a year, had demanded reinforcement of the MSP system with legal aid. Narendra Modi’s government, which has repealed the laws during the agitation, has made it clear that the MSP system will continue.
The panel also urged the government to repeal or significantly dilute the Essential Commodities Act to facilitate a free market and avoid strict limits on stock holdings.
Anil Ghanwat, chairman of Maharashtra-based Shetkari Sanghatana and a member of the panel, said on Monday that the commission found that more than 86% of the 73 farmers’ organizations representing about 3.8 crore farmers supported the agricultural laws. sought to redefine the rules for marketing agricultural products in order to improve farmers’ access to the markets.
The panel had submitted its report to the Supreme Court a year ago. The report highlighted the view of many leading agricultural economists that the laws aimed at creating an ecosystem to facilitate private investment in well-oiled supply chains to reduce logistics costs, support value addition and reduce food losses.
According to the panel, the price triggers for imposing limits on stock holdings for perishable and non-perishable commodities should be 200% and 75% respectively, so that markets are not disrupted without valid reason. The repealed law aimed at amending EC law had proposed limits of 100% and 50% respectively for perishable and non-perishable goods. At present, these limits are prescribed as an ad hoc policy response to market situations.
The panel said a price stabilization fund could absorb extreme price swings in commodities such as grains, pulses, oilseeds and even onions and potatoes.
The panel, which also included Ashok Gulati, former chairman of the Committee on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), and Pramod Kumar Joshi, former director of South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute, said: “The job description for CACP can be expanded to collect, analyze and disseminate price information – both nationally and internationally, for efficient price discovery – both spot and futures.”
CACP currently recommends MSPs for 23 agricultural commodities such as grains, pulses, oilseeds and cotton to the government.
It proposed a compensation fund for the next three to five years in the event of lost revenue due to the elimination of APMC taxes on states.
Punjab and Haryana impose various levies such as mandi tax, rural development levy and artia commission of 8.5% and 6.5% on grains purchased in APMC mandis while other states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have levy structure from 3-5%.
Currently, the FCI buys about 35% of the total rice and wheat production at MSP rates.
The Three Agricultural Laws — Agreement for Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services, 2020; the Act (Promotion and Facilitation of Trade and Trade in Farm Products), 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 – were passed by Parliament in September 2020. After lengthy protests from part of the farming community, parliament passed the Repeal of Farming Laws Act on November 30, 2021, to annul them.
This post Supreme Court-appointed panel wants MSP purchases restricted, limited to rice and wheat
was original published at “https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/supreme-court-appointed-panel-wants-msp-purchases-capped-limited-to-rice-and-wheat/2467114/”
