CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government’s committee of experts, headed by Planning Commission former deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, had recommended in an interim report last year that the Punjab government must open up agricultural marketing beyond the agricultural produce and market committees (APMC) to effect reforms in the sector.
The expert panel was constituted in April last year for a post-Covid revival strategy and its interim report, “Medium & Long-Term Post-Covid Economic Strategy for Punjab — A Multi-Sectoral Approach to Building Resilience and Recovery”, was submitted to the Punjab government on July 31.
“Punjab should aim at reforming agriculture marketing by inviting the private sector to build modern supply chains using state-of-the-art technology. The development of modern storage and logistics would help to export agricultural produce not only to other states, but also abroad,” the group of experts had recommended. It had also pushed for legal changes to buy directly from farmers as well as investment in value chain infrastructure, which it said was the best way to reduce market risk and increase the farmers’ share of the consumers’ rupee.