Educating stakeholders

The series of protests against the agricultural marketing reforms introduced through three Ordinances in June are a clear indication of lingering misgivings about some aspects of these pro-farmer measures. These reforms, pending for long, have dismantled the monopoly of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) to give farmers the freedom to sell their produce to whoever and wherever they feel like. Setting up private agricultural markets has also been permitted to offer competition to the APMC mandis. Goods traded outside the mandi yards have also been exempt from market charges. However, as could be expected, the response of different stakeholders —