Updated: September 26, 2020 8:04:11 pm
Farm workers planting rice seedlings at Kajjal Majra Village in Fatehgarh Sahib district. Express photo of Jasbir Malhi
In order to nullify the negative impact of the Draft Farm Bill on the Trade and Trade of Agricultural Products (Promotion and Facilitation), SAD President Sukhbir Badal suggested to the Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh to declare the entire state as a ‘Main Market Courtyard’. But what does such a move mean for farmers who are agitating across the state? The Indian Express explains with the help of expert input.
What is the definition of Principal Market Yard today?
According to the Punjab Agricultural Products Market Committee (APMC) Law, there are three types of yards under the Punjab Mandi Board (PMB): main market yard, secondary yard, and shopping centers. The PMB reports these yards in a specific area on certain acres. According to the APMC Law, the PMB has 151 main market patios, 287 secondary patios, and more than 1,400 small mandis or shopping centers. Adequate infrastructure was developed in these main courtyards which included civic services, sheds, office buildings, dining room, platform, dining paths, electrification, and even public health facilities. Small mandis have temporary arrangements of minimal civic comforts during the purchasing season.
What will change if the entire state declares a Main Market Yard?
Experts said declaring the entire state a Primary Market Yard would mean that the buyer has to pay the same taxes outside of PMB yards, even in a private commercial area.
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“Although it will be clearer if something finally happens, but for the moment it can be understood that anyone who is buying from farmers anywhere, whether in the patios of PMB or outside, has to pay the same taxes as in PMB mandis” explained Professor Kesar. Singh Bhangu, an expert on agricultural issues and professor of economics at the University of Punjabi, Patiala.
Is it even possible to declare all of Punjab as Principal Mandi Yard?
Renowned economist Professor Sardara Singh Johal told The Indian Express that the “government has to see the legal side” of such a move first. “I think it is possible under its own APMC Law. So the most important question here is how the state government will run the entire state as a market.
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At PMB’s current shipyards, he added, there are market committee staff to manage the buying and selling. “How will the state manage the sale outside the PMB patios?” He asked, suggesting that the government will have to develop a system to put every buyer under a tax regime in the state.
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Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) Dakaunda, said that despite the APMC Law, only farmers who sell directly to companies go to PMB’s shipyards. “For example, Punjab produces around 18 million tons of wheat, which is a government purchase, of which 13 million tons are sold to the government for the contribution to the national common fund and the remaining 5 million tons 2 million tons are preserved. of peasant families for seed and self-consumption purposes and about 3 million tons are sold on the free market to flour mills, bread companies and other processing units, etc. ”, He explained, and asked how this trade will be handled if the entire state is declared Principal Mandi Yard. “It is a political statement and difficult to implement in practice.”
What could be the implications of such a move?
Dr Johal warned that such a step could isolate Punjab and overcome the centre’s bills on agriculture applicable to the rest of India. Professor Gian Singh, a retired economics professor at the University of Punjabi in Patiala, said the Center, which buys the wheat and rice paddy from Punjab, may not like the idea if the state repeals its bills and could decide now buy from the state, an annual expenditure of 65,000 crore rupees. “The state government has no money to pay the salaries of its staff, so how will it buy this huge harvest? Even if the Punjab government buys it, where will it be stored? The state does not have the infrastructure to store it because the center’s Food Corporation of Indian (FCI) manages all wheat and rice storage in the state, ”explained Professor Gian Singh. Professor Bangu said that the trader who will be supposed to pay taxes even outside the mandis will start paying even less to farmers to keep his profit margin intact.
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