All warehouses be declared as deemed mandis if they comply with State APMC rules: Siraj Hussain panel

Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi in Rajkot.

The Siraj Hussain-led panel on the promotion of warehouse-based sale of agricultural produce has recommended that all warehouses, whether registered with WDRA or not, should be declared as deemed market yards (mandis) if they comply with the prescribed norms of State’s APMC Act/Rules. It has also been suggested that the Agriculture Ministry form a steering committee with major States for smooth and faster implementation.

The Expert Committee, headed by the former agriculture secretary, was set up in April 2023, is said to have submitted its report in December, and it was uploaded on the Ministry website on Monday. It has recommended a host of measures to promote warehouse-based sales, with a focus on e-Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (eNWRs) trading through eNAM and other registered e-trading platforms.

One of the key recommendations is the compulsory registration of all warehouses with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes or more with the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA). It has also asked the government to provide credit at a subsidised interest rate when farmers avail it using eNWRs by extending the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme for this purpose.

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“All those warehouses, whether registered with WDRA or not but complying with the prescribed norms for markets set out in the respective State’s APMC Act/Rules, may be declared as deemed market-yards,” the panel also said. Further, it has suggested State governments give preference to WDRA-registered warehouses for declaring those as deemed market-yards, as only such godowns are mandated to issue eNWRs.

Panel to push declaration

“This would not require too much formalities at the level of APMCs/State Agricultural Marketing Boards and the State governments as WDRA has already completed extensive physical inspection of such warehouses before registration,” the panel said.

Suggesting the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to form a “Steering Committee” with major States to push the declaration of warehouses as deemed market-yards, the panel said there is a need for appropriate legal provisioning in State’s APMC Acts, including the urgent notification of Rules “The Steering Committee may also monitor and review the progress of the actual declaration or notification of deemed market-yards on the ground by holding regular meetings,” it said.

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As it is mandatory for all warehouses under the Food Corporation of India (FCI), both its own and the ones leased out by private sector, to be registered with WDRA, the panel has said States should intensively promote registration of co-operative and private warehouses and undertake awareness programme among warehouse owners to encourage them to register with WDRA.

The committee also recommends making it mandatory that the second instalment of subsidy under any government scheme of Centre and States for warehouse construction be released only after registration with WDRA.

Focus on promoting eNWRs

In the first phase, focus should be on promoting warehouse-based primary trade via eNWRs through eNAM and other registered e-trading platforms, for the success of such trade on a large scale. Subsequently, a mechanism can be established to promote secondary trade, mostly happening from warehouses, via eNWRs through eNAM and other registered e -trading platforms, the panel said.

However, many agri-marketing experts differ on allowing secondary trade on e-NAM, as it will dilute the focus on helping farmers since there are several private sector online platforms already available for facilitating transactions between trader to trader (B2B).

The panel said that allowing secondary trade through eNAM and other registered e-trading platforms would necessitate the formulation of market rules covering trading procedure, payment, transaction charges, dispute settlements, etc.

The panel stated that allowing secondary trade through eNAM and other registered e-trading platforms would necessitate the formulation of market rules covering trading procedures, payments, transaction charges, dispute settlements, etc.