Freeing the Farmer

Context – Govt has announced the amendment of Essential Commodities Act to revive the agriculture marketing.

Reforms announced in Agriculture

• Boosting credit flow to parts of Agri-ecosystem.

1. Agricultural marketing reforms: amending the Essential Commodities Act to create a legal framework enabling farmers to facilitate direct dealings between farmers and buyers.
2. Push towards contract farming: Creation of a legal framework to enable farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers. 

Why amend Essential Commodity Act?

• Ill-suited for present times: Impose restrictions on holding of stocks and disincentivise private player from making investment in farm sector in warehousing and storage.

Significance of the recent announcement.

• Excluding food items and doing away with stock limits: provide more choices to farmers.
• This will enable farmer to sell produce to anyone and provide traders and organised retailers the flexibility to procure and stock food items.
• Facilitate private investment in sector while strengthening farm to fork chain.

Way Forward

• This is an opportunity to rejuvenate the agriculture sector. Political will to implement these reforms will be the key to its success.