APMC Full-form

APMC full form is Agricultural Produce Market Committee and is a body established to safeguard farmers against intermediaries who force them to sell their farm produce at low prices. As per this committee, it is mandatory to bring food stocks to the market and sell them via auction. To make sure farmers are not cheated by retailers, special mandis are set up in different states of India. Setting up markets in respective mandis requires a license from APMC. If you are curious to learn more about APMC as it is a crucial part of the UPSC syllabus then read our article thoroughly.

What is APMC Full Form?

The full form of APMC is the Agricultural Produce Market Committee which is a system initiated by the government to eliminate disparities in the prices of farm-produced products. This committee has set rules which enable the farmers to receive timely payment for their products. In India exploitation of farmers is a grim issue which is solved by the formation of APMC. With its formulation, safe trading agricultural trading practices are conducted resulting in improved market efficiency. 

The interest of both the producer and the seller is protected by this system. One of the primary objectives of the Indian government to introduce the Agricultural Produce Market Committee is to minimize the incidence of exploitation of farmers by creditors or intermediaries which led to the distress sale of farm-produced food items.

Overview on APMC

Diving into the History of APMC

The initiative to form a committee on agricultural produce market regulation has been prevalent since the British Raj in India when raw cotton was supplied to Manchester. In 1886, the first regulated market was set up in India under the Hyderabad Residency Order. One of the vital reforms concerning the regulation of agricultural produce marketing was conducted in 1928 by the Royal Commission which aimed at improving trade practices and led to the formation of market yards in the countryside. 

Well, from the 1960s to 1970s, some states of India enforced APMR acts (Agricultural Produce Market Regulation full form) which brought the wholesale markets under a common ambit. To construct market yards in different places, an APMC was established who can frame rules to organize agricultural marketing. Finally, in 2015, the Union Budget agreed to create a United National Market by taking assistance from NITI Ayog and state governments. 

Objectives and Salient Features of APMC

Under the APMC Act, wholesaling of farm-produced products is regulated. As per the rules set by this regulatory committee, each state government should designate markets or mandis whereby farm-produced products can be sold through auction. The article in the Indian constitution which explains the APMC Act has some objectives that are discussed below.

The primary objectives of APMC are as follows:

• Specification of systems and rules to establish markets for the sale of agricultural products.
• Frame an effective and unbiased marketing system.
• Promoting agricultural exports and agri-processing.

The committee has also set other norms to eliminate discrepancies in fixing the price of farm products.

Formation of Specialized Markets

Under the APMC Act, full form of which is Agricultural Produce Market Regulation, provisions are set to notify the establishment of a special commodity market in any designated area that already houses a farm produce market.

Development of New markets

Markets or mandis should be established only by the state governments. This act provides liberty to growers, organizations or local authorities to apply for more than one market for agricultural produce in any area. 

Roles and Responsibilities Fulfilled by Market Committees 

The APMC act has set certain provisions for the marketing committee so that both farmers' and sellers' rights are protected.

• Making the data pertaining to rates of agricultural products and day of arrivals public to eliminate any disparity.
• Ensuring complete transparency is maintained when pricing the products and also the transactions that occur in the market area.
• Offering market-led extension facilities to the farmers.
• Promoting agri-processing initiatives that result in the betterment of the farm products' quality.
• Ensuring timely payments to the farmers that are sold in the market on the same day.

e-NAM Portal Helping the APMC Implementation

To fulfill the objective formulated by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee(APMC full form), a common trading portal is established which is known as e-NAM. The National Agriculture Market is an electronic portal operating on a pan-India basis. It links all the mandis formed under the APMC across the country to create a unified whole. 

This portal enables farmers and sellers or any other person involved in the agricultural produce markets to get adequate information on different types of detail like

• The arrival of products in the market
• Provision to trade offers
• Offers on buying and selling of products

e-NAM minimizes the transaction cost and offers scope to people to get accurate information when agricultural products are transferred to mandis from farms. 

Notable APMC Programmed and Schemes

A wide array of schemes have been established for better implementation of the objectives formulated by the APMC Act. Below we have listed some of the notable schemes.

Use of Digital Weighing Scales

In the state of Telangana, almost 1257 digital weighing scales have been installed to ensure every commodity is accurately measured. In fact, 2 weigh bridges have been linked to the e-NAM mandis of Telangana, and are connected via Bluetooth to the e-NAM site which has significantly decreased the tiring work of manual entry.

Installed Machines for Assaying Chillies

Telangana is regarded as the country's largest producer of chillies. The state government installed CT Vieu Chilly machines for assaying red chillies to five mandis. It helps to ensure high-quality chillies are sold at the markets.

Limitations to the APMC Act

Though the APMC system has led to the elimination of discrimination faced by farmers when they are forced to sell the farm produce at negligible lower prices. Well, there are certain limitations addressed in the effective system; let's discover them.

1. APMC plays the dual role of a market and a regulator. At times it is found that regulators carry out lucrative trades based on their profits.
2. The license fees, shop rent and cost are pretty high which acts as a barrier for the farmer who earns a meager income.
3. Farmers are often refused payments as few display the tendency of blocking a part of payment without a valid explanation.

Reforms for Effective Functioning of APMC

Undoubtedly the APMC is helping farmers to sell their products directly in the market without interference from a third party. Well, certain loopholes have been identified that are restricting the complete utilisation of this act by the farmers. We have discussed some of the important reforms that could change the scenario and allow farmers to reap benefits from the APMC Act.

• Initiating Effective communication

Communication turns out to be a barrier in stopping farmers from getting the right price for their farm produce. When information concerning market prices and demand is not shared on time, farmers stay in the dark thereby, facing price discrimination.

• Encourage sales through samples

To eradicate the trouble of double transportation, the APMC committee needs to boast the practice of creating a grading system right at the farm gate. It will both reduce the time and money of transportation.

• Remove restrictions

To ensure that the agricultural trade is flourishing and booming, it is vital to remove restrictions imposed on pricing, stockholding, and technology by ECA. Free Trade policies must be implemented for better outcomes.

• Enhance transparency

One of the major shortcomings of APMC is limited transparency between buyer and seller. Some agents of the committee manipulate the prices without informing the farmers. It is important to conduct the APC trade with transparency through open auctions that involve multiple bidders so that direct trade can be counted between seller and buyer.

• Uniformity in fees

There remains a huge disparity in the mandi fee for food grains, vegetables and fruits. To ensure farmers gain adequate benefit from this market, steps need to be taken towards a uniform price that will range between 0.25 to 0.50 per cent.

• Eradicating distress sales

A major issue or shortcoming in the APMC market system is the distressed sale of farm products. It is necessary to offer scope to farmers to store their products in a proper storehouse. Loans should also be offered against warehouse receipts, it can definitely reduce distress sales.

The state governments need to address the rising concerns associated with the choice of market regulators to avoid discrepancies in the effective APMC system, full form of which is Agricultural Produce Market Committee.