PUNE: The Maharashtra Cabinet has given in-principle approval to farmers to sell fruits and vegetables directly to wholesalers, bypassing the APMC mandis.
However, it has held back the decision by a few days, handing it over to a cabinet sub-committee. "A cabinet sub-committee will take a decision on the matter in four days. We want to examine different angles such as the risk involved in farmers getting payment when they sell outside the APMC premises," said Chandrakant Patil, cabinet minister (agricultural marketing).
One of the reasons for deferring the decision was because of the current price of vegetables. "Farmers are affected by the drought, and if they can’t benefit from the high prices, there could be unrest," said an official, who did not want to be identified.
However, Patil refuted this logic by saying that the decision to de-list is expected to give good rates to farmers. The decision will enable 30 APMCs to become part of National Agricultural Market and do e-trading, getting access to the national market.
The daily need for vegetables in Mumbai is about 2500 tonne. "We have asked the Farmer Producer Companies, farmers’ groups and organised retail chains to be ready to supply vegetables in case there’s any disruption," said Milind Akre, managing director, Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB).
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