NITI Aayog member and agricultural policy expert Ramesh Chand has recommended to the government that the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act be kept in suspended animation for the next six months in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.
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The government is considering the recommendation seriously, according to people aware of the matter. The APMC Act empowers state governments to specify market areas operated and regulated by market committees where farmers bring their produce for sale. Any relaxation in the provisions of the Act will have to be done through state governments. The recommendation also included that the farmers be allowed to take processed or cleaned up produce directly to the warehouse. Earlier, the farmers brought the produce to the mandi.
