Unseasonal rain exposes one-sided APMC norm leaving farmers vulnerable

Nagpur: Unseasonal rains in parts of the state have not only damaged farm produce brought to agriculture market yards but also exposed how one-sided business practice leaves farmers vulnerable. Farmers sell their harvest through open auctions conducted at yards managed by agriculture produce marketing committees (APMCs), a regulatory body responsible for providing the overall infrastructure of the mandi, across the state.As per the norms, if it rains before the produce is sold, farmers bear the loss. If the stock is sold, then the buyer bears the brunt. There is a catch, however. In several APMCs, traders do not take responsibility for produce damaged by rain or other calamities even after the auction is over. Traders are only liable for losses once the commodity is packed in gunny bags, weighed, and a receipt is issued to the farmer. This means that if a farmer's wheat produce is auctioned, but not yet packed and weighed, any rain damage remains the farmer's loss, say sources, adding it takes nearly a day to issue a receipt at times. Till then, the farmer has to keep his fingers crossed."During peak season, it can take up to 12 hours to issue the weighing receipt. Even in normal times, the formalities take around four hours," said Vijay Nichal, a Shetkari Sanghatana activist and farmer from Yavatmal.A member of the Kalamna APMC managing committee confirmed traders are only responsible for the produce after the weighing receipt is issued.Immediately after the auction, a preliminary receipt is issued, listing the buyer and seller, but not the quantity sold. Only after the produce is packed, weighed, and a final receipt issued does the trader assume responsibility, said a senior official from the department of cooperatives, which also oversees APMCs. The official acknowledged that in many yards, the trader bears the loss only after the weighing receipt is finalized.Farm activist Vijay Jawandhia argued that if a farmer cannot sell the produce to any other trader post-auction, the buyer should bear the losses regardless of whether a weighing receipt has been issued.