We'll talk to all stakeholders before amending APMC rules: Prithviraj Chavan

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said that the state would be talking to various stakeholders on modifying the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC) rules for freeing sale of fruits and vegetables from the ambit of marketing bodies.

Speaking to mediapersons after the launch of ‘Krishi Vasant 2014, National Agricultural Fair cum Exhibition’ on Sunday, Chavan said, “The prices of vegetables and fruits suddenly increase and we want to give the farmers the option of not taking their produce to the APMC market.”

The CM said the state has accepted an open economy and therefore, it wants to give the farmers the option of selling their produce on their own.

Responding to a question on the lack of infrastructure for movement of farm products directly to buyers, instead of the APMC market, Chavan said that facilities would have to be created and the government would talk to all stake holders on it.

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar stated that he had called for a meeting of the states for reforms in the markets and several states have already carried out reforms with regard to APMC markets.

Pawar and Chavan both talked about drop in farmer suicide rates in the state.

The chief minister said that the number of suicides have come down by 50 per cent due to various measures taken by the state and said that the government is taking full care of the family members of the victims, while also ensuring that others in their villages do not take the extreme step.