Nagpur, Dec 8 (NationPress) On Monday, the Maharashtra state government introduced a bill aimed at revising the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 1963. This initiative seeks to modernise agricultural trade within the state and establish a unified market ecosystem.

The bill places an emphasis on simplifying trade licenses and enhancing electronic commerce, with the intention of ensuring that farmers benefit maximally from competitive agricultural produce pricing.

The most notable amendments are designed to break the monopoly held by traditional Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) and to facilitate barrier-free trade throughout Maharashtra. The proposal for a Unified Single Trading Licence (USTL) is a transformative step for traders.

The USTL permits traders to operate in any market yard, private market, or online platform across Maharashtra with just one standardized license.

Additionally, the amendment acknowledges Unified Single Trading Licenses from other States or Union Territories, thereby fostering inter-state trade, while adhering to relevant market fees. A new mechanism has also been introduced to classify certain market committees as 'Markets of National Importance (MNI)'.

These MNIs are projected to manage substantial volumes of agricultural produce (over 80,000 metric tons annually) and to draw produce from at least two other states, thereby facilitating national-level trade.

The government is also advocating for a robust implementation of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform, which aims to incorporate 133 APMCs into an all-India electronic trading system. This strategy is intended to promote price transparency and assist farmers in obtaining better compensation for their crops by connecting them with a broader array of buyers.

To maintain regulatory oversight even outside APMC confines, the government has mandated that all private traders obtain a license from either the marketing committee or the Director of Marketing before directly purchasing agricultural products from farmers.

As per the bill, the proposed reforms signify a pivotal move towards aligning Maharashtra's markets within the broader National Agriculture Market vision, ensuring enhanced choices and improved price realization for millions of farmers in the state, provided that administrative and operational hurdles are effectively addressed.