Cattle trade has been suspended in several weekly markets in Jalna district, Maharashtra, following allegations of harassment and attacks by cow vigilantes. Traders cite prolonged legal battles and selective targeting as reasons for the boycott.
'We have tags of state animals and birds. However, the invisible world of microbes is doing a lot of things for us in nature, not just for human beings but for the entire life.'
According to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the revival in the agriculture sector has been due to the record production of 216 million tonnes of foodgrains, 22.7 million bales of cotton and 345 million tonnes of sugarcane in 2006-07. He said this revival was a result of the amendments made in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Acts by the various state governments with the guidelines of the centre.
The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
The apex biz chamber said that there is an urgent need to make contract farming legal.
Fourteen states that include Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have amended the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act this year. This allows farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers offering them the best price.
Amendments to the Agriculture Produce Market Committees Act have opened floodgates for private companies and online commodity exchange in Gujarat.
The government data released on May 17 showed a minor dip in headline inflation to 8.66 per cent in April, driven by a moderation in food and manufactured items prices.
The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee law allows mandis to remain in the grip of a middlemen cartel, with clear links to politicians who run the governments.
The city government will bring an amendment to the APMC Act for facilitating direct purchase of produce from farmers.
India's leading commodity bourse - the Multi-Commodity Exchange - is in negotiations with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up spot exchanges in the state.
'Nitish Kumar is fooling the people of Bihar.' 'He will not probe anything because if he does so, he will be trapped himself.'
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said only farm revolution can make it possible. He also stressed on scrapping Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee and some old laws like Essential Commodites Act, which restrict movement of farm produces.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
A barrier-free market -- coupled with removal of controls, licensing system, intermediaries and state-imposed levies on farm commodities -- will benefit both sellers and buyers.
With Pawar backing farmers' protest against the contentious agri reforms, government sources on Sunday pointed out that as the agriculture minister in the UPA dispensation he had asked chief ministers to amend the APMC Act in their states to allow the private sector to play an important role in the field.
The government's annual Economic Survey on Friday strongly defended new farm laws, saying they herald a new era of market freedom which can go a long way in improving lives of small and marginal farmers in India. These legislations were designed "primarily" for the benefit of "small and marginal farmers", which constitute around 85 per cent of the total number of farmers and are the biggest sufferer of the "regressive" APMC-regulated market regime, the survey said. The pre-budget document defended the farm laws in the backdrop of long-running farmers' agitation at various borders of the national capital seeking repeal of these legislations expressing concern that they are pro-corporate and could weaken government regulated mandis, also called Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs).
Three key agriculture Bills, approved by the Lok Sabha, are facing staunch opposition from within the ruling coalition with senior minister Harsmirat Kaur Badal resigning in protest and farmers hitting the street.
Regulated electronic platforms such as e-spot markets or spot exchanges may be deemed as authorised markets.
The application, filed through advocate AP Singh, said, "The Acts were passed hastily without adequate discussion... Inherent weaknesses of the agricultural sector cannot be addressed by way of monetization of farmers."
An assorted bunch of farmers, small traders and non-government organisations (NGOs) have trained their guns on a legislation that allows private companies to directly procure produce from farmers. Termed the Model Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, the legislation was drawn up by the central government a few years back.
Metro Cash & Carry, the global German wholesale major, will invest about Euro 40-45 million for setting up two new marts in Kolkata and Mumbai, expected to become operational by the first quarter next year. It is also planning to enter Punjab.
In a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the experts suggested timely implementation of the BJP's election manifesto promises to fix higher support prices. They also favoured a Kissan TV channel, an efficient procurement policy, priority for farm mechanisation and the linking of rivers.
Releasing the manifesto titled 'Badlav Ka Sankalp' (commitment to change) in the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, Tejashwi Yadav said their government, if elected, would first approve the process for appointments on about 10 lakh jobs in the government.
Delhi's Industry Secretary Amit Yadav told PTI that the city government has communicated its decision to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the government.
War against price rise will remain the "overriding policy priority" of Congress, AICC said on Friday amid a growing feeling in the rank and file that inflation hit the party in the recent Assembly elections where it suffered one of the worst defeats in the recent times.
The President's assent to these bills comes amid the Opposition criticising the manner in which they were passed in Parliament.
From linking innovation with supply of inputs to providing contract farming, the private sector can help agriculture move to the next stage of development.
'As far as contract farming is concerned, we already have a model Act and states will be encouraged to adopt them.'
The day-long conference will be chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and presided over by both Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
The challenge for politicians is that the continuous electoral cycle favours short-termism and the loan waiver type of policy, whereas prosperity requires hard decisions where commonly held perceptions must be disrupted and over-turned, says Dhiraj Nayyar.
He asserted that the government purchase of farm produce will remain, adding that the mechanism of minimum support price will continue in the same way it always has.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of ignoring farmers' interests and keeping them poor to ensure cheap grain prices, and asserted that the Modi government empowered them by implementing the Swaminathan commission report to give them remunerative price through MSP.
Ficci also said the new leadership is expected to recognise the industry concerns on land, labour and environment.
The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act of a state regulates the purchase of agricultural products, such as cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables for that region. It hobbles farmers, imposing multiple levies on produce and disallows direct sales to private companies.
Cargill believes the reforms would act as a catalyst in attracting private sector investment in building supply chains for taking Indian farm produce to national and global markets.
The Congress leadership has become stunted, it does not understand agriculture and the party is trying to mislead farmers for its own vested interests, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
According to the Sebi circular, commodities that require price control measures will be less conducive for the derivatives market.
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