Reforming Agricultural Markets in Punjab in the Federal Context for Post-COVID-19 Recovery

That reforms in agricultural markets are long due is not disputed though the nature of such reforms is under question. This was evident from the way the perishable produce farmers experienced losses during the COVID-19 pandemic though the wheat procurement was smooth due to the fact it was procured by state agencies, by and large. Punjab has either lagged or has taken adverse steps which were not in tune with the Indian trend in agricultural market reforms. For example, it did not (with the exception of provision of private markets in 2006) amend the APMC Act substantially until recently (2017) and had enacted a completely unnecessary separate contract farming Act in 2013 which was never operationalized. Recently, when the Union government has enacted Acts on two major state domains i.e. on agricultural trade area outside the APMC market yards/sub-yards and, on contract farming, Punjab again needs to take a call on its agricultural marketing legislation (APLM Act, 2107 with rules framed in 2020) to make it in tune with the Union legislations or take its own route in agricultural market reforms. In this context, this article reviews the state of agricultural markets and agricultural market policy and regulation for their potential role in agricultural market development. It examines the Union model APLM (2017) and APLCF&S (2018) Acts and amended Punjab APLM Act, 2020 as well as the two recent Union Acts for their implications for Punjab. Finally, the article suggests an agricultural market reform map for Punjab and mechanisms for bringing about desired type and level of agro-market development in the state in tune with globalization and local needs of the farmers of the state in the light of post-COVID-19 agricultural recovery.