Draft agri export policy to boost farm income

NEW DELHI: The draft agriculture export policy has recommended providing an assurance that the processed agricultural products and all kinds of organic products will not be brought under the ambit of any kind of export restriction even though the primary agricultural product will be subject to such policy measures.

Sanjeev Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 19

The draft agriculture export policy has recommended providing an assurance that the processed agricultural products and all kinds of organic products will not be brought under the ambit of any kind of export restriction even though the primary agricultural product will be subject to such policy measures.

The draft agriculture export policy was put in the public domain on Monday by the Commerce Ministry just as the informal WTO Ministerial meeting commenced.

Providing a stable policy regime for agri exports is among the main strategic recommendations of the policy, which has been framed in consonance with the government’s call for “doubling farmers’ income”. The policy document says it is Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu’s initiative in the larger interest of farmers and agriculture exports.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has come up with a draft “agriculture export policy” aimed at doubling the agricultural exports and integrating farmers and agricultural products in the global value chain.

The policy will initiate the consultation among the relevant stakeholders and ministries to identify the commodities essential from food security perspective and barring such identified commodities, the effort would be to ensure that other agricultural products would not be brought under any kind of export restrictions.

The policy has also called for reforms in the APMC Act and streamlining of Mandi fee. The policy notes that the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) Acts across states have not been able to achieve the farmers’ welfare envisaged in these Acts. “Some APMC market yards or mandis which have bred inefficiency and cartelisation are a classic case in point,” the policy said.

“Since decades farmers have been under compulsion to sell their produce in official market yards which may or may not offer the best remunerative prices. Monopoly of the APMC prevents private players from setting up markets and investing in market infrastructure,” it noted.

The policy has also called for liberalising land leasing norms by implementing the model contract farming act.

The Finance Minister, while presenting the Union Budget for 2018-19, has announced the intent on working with the state governments on liberalising the leasing policy without compromising the rights of the land owner.