New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) Parliament was informed on Friday that the Union government maintains continuous oversight over the country’s import and export activities and revises trade policies as necessary to safeguard domestic interests.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur said that for essential agricultural commodities, there is an Inter-Ministerial Committee which keeps a close and regular watch on essential agricultural commodities, analysing factors that affect their availability and market conditions.
He said that the committee also monitors any rise in imports to quickly identify trends that may influence domestic production, trade, or food security.
The minister said in order to protect the interests of farmers and reduce unnecessary imports, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) reviews the import of agricultural commodities and, when required, recommends measures such as import duties or port restrictions to the concerned Ministry or Department.
He said that the government supports farmers through several ongoing schemes and interventions, including the market intervention through procurement under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for notified crops, Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) operations for essential commodities such as onions to manage volatility and market intelligence and buffer stocking operations by Central agencies.
Besides, the government undertakes input and income support schemes, such as PM-KISAN, to cushion farmers from income fluctuations. These measures collectively aim to mitigate adverse impacts on farmers arising from market disruptions, he explained.
The Department of Commerce, through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), also provides financial assistance to its member exporters, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) from across the country under the Financial Assistance Scheme.
Specifically with respect to linking farmers to global markets, APEDA provides financial assistance for the implementation and certification of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) through its registered exporters to enable them to meet the requirements of the importing countries with respect to the quality standards designated by them, the minister explained.
In addition to this, around 1080 capacity building/training programs have been carried out during 2025-26, across India, in association with the concerned State government agencies, with a specific focus for exporters, including FPOs/FPCs/SHGs, to provide linkage of the farmer groups to the export supply chain and to promote the entrepreneurs to become prospective exporters.
Finally, APEDA organised participation of its member exporters, including FPOs and FPC’s in major international food exhibitions and buyer-seller meets held abroad and in India, like World Food India, Indus Food, AAHAR in India and Gulf Food, the minister added.
–IANS
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