Draft agri-marketing policy aims for barrier-free, pan-India trade to liberalise agricultural markets and benefit farmers and consumers
India's 7,057 APMC markets have low density (1 per 407 sq km); 1,410 are e-NAM linked, 1,100 non-functional, and 450 lack infrastructure
Boost direct farmer-consumer sales, upgrade grameen haats to GrAMs, and enhance district/state agri-processing facilities for exports
Digitise agri-marketing, expand e-NAM to private/public centres, and develop APMC infrastructure via public-private partnerships
Private sector entry may raise concerns, but farm-gate sales and reduced mandi fees could enhance farmers’ trade terms over time
Quarterly “Ease of Doing Agri-trade” index proposed; state-Union collaboration is vital as agri-marketing is a state subject