The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Law on farm produce marketing on the anvil

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Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Law on farm produce marketing on the anvil

Special Correspondent

To check the ‘free-for-all’ in the market

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government would soon bring forward a law to govern agricultural products marketing in the State, Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Rathnakaran told the Assembly on Tuesday.

Responding to a calling attention motion moved by Mankode Radhakrishnan (CPI), the Minister said the draft of the bill was ready and had been sent for legal scrutiny. The bill would be introduced in the Assembly at the earliest so as to check exploitation of farmers by foreign and domestic monopolies, he said.

Market committees

Mr. Rathnakaran said the bill would have provisions for formation of market committees comprising representatives of farmers, traders and government departments and for the constitution of a marketing board at the State level to coordinate the activities of the market committees. Once the market areas are notified and brought under the market committees, the government would be able to check the ‘free-for-all’ that was existing in the market at present. It would also help check speculative trading and bring about transparency in buying and selling, he added.

The Minister said the law would also help promote value addition and export of agricultural products and facilitate better extension activities in the area of farm produce marketing besides making prices of farm products in different parts of the State available on a daily basis.

Exploitation

Earlier, Mr. Radhakrishnan pointed out that farmers were being exploited by vested interests in the market taking advantage of the uncertainty in demand and supply and the entry of monopolies in the retail scene.

Unless the government enacted a law, retail marketing of agriculture produces would fall into the grip of the monopolies, he warned.

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