Govt Approves Big Agricultural Reforms that’ll Help Farmers Trade Freely in India

The Narendra Modi government Wednesday approved amendments to the Essential Commodities Act and brought an ordinance that will allow farmers to sell their crop to anyone, a move that is expected to go a long way in helping Indian farmers and transforming the agriculture sector.The decisions are part of the Modi government’s Rs 20 lakh crore lockdown relief package, which was announced in multiple parts last month.The changes to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, will “deregulate” various agricultural commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from stock limits, except in case of natural calamities like famine. 

In context to the same,  Mr. Amith Agarwal,Co-Founder & CEO, AgriBazaar shares, " I wish to congratulate the Indian government, especially our Hon’ble Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Minister of Rural Development Shri Narendra Singh Tomarji for this historic decision. The amendment to the Essential Commodities Act marks the beginning of a new chapter in India's agriculture history. The removal of inter-state agri-trade barriers will help farmers, especially, small farm owners and FPN's to sell their produce at an all India level with better and transparent price discovery mechanism. The measure will improve the ease of doing business for the agri-sector and foster greater transparency, efficiency and trust across the value chain. Additionally, this will serve our goals of doubling farmers' income by 2022 as well as the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan.

He further added that as an industry stakeholder, I am excited by the opportunities brought about by this move. We believe our full-stack agritech e-mandi platform AgriBazaar will empower small farmers and FPN's to connect with buyers across India in a fast, fair and futuristic manner."