Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/MintMumbai: Maharashtra will soon introduce legislation banning the purchase of farm produce below the minimum support price (MSP), chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said at an agriculture review meeting on Wednesday. Fadnavis said the law will make procurement of farm produce at MSP fixed by the government mandatory across the state. However, the chief minister did not clarify if the proposed law will also apply to licensed traders who operate at Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis. Farmers sell their produce to licensed traders at APMC mandis if their produce does not meet the standards of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) fixed by the government procurement agencies to buy at MSP. Farm produce not graded as FAQ is generally sold below the MSP.

Source: Mint May 03, 2017 18:22 UTC