Agricultural Marketing Regulation and Sustainable Agricultural Development: A Socio-Legal Study of Punjab

Abstract

Punjab has been considered to be the agricultural hub of India in terms of its agricultural output and procurement activities, which are carried out as per the functioning of Minimum Support Price (MSP) system. High agricultural productivity and large-scale procurement under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, make Punjab the one of the agricultural hubs of India and a key contributor to ensuring food security of the nation. Yet, recently the viability of Punjab's agriculture has been under growing threat because of a deterioration of the environment, a depletion of groundwater, crop monoculture, climate change and new agricultural marketing rules.^[1] The collapse of 2020 farm laws and the resurgence in the subject of robust market regulation to boost the agricultural produce market committee (APMC) system, liberalization, farmers welfare and sustainable agriculture have brought the consideration of these critical legal and policy arguments to the forefront. This paper analyses the relevant constitutional provisions, central and state legislation and judicial pronouncements as well as the current policy initiatives to critically examine the link between agricultural marketing regulation and sustainable agriculture in Punjab. This study examines the effects of the prevailing marketing laws on the availability of markets, price stability, crop variety, environmental protection and the livelihood of rural industries.^[2] It also assesses institutional problems like poor marketing facilities, translation of digital gap, low quality of regulatory enforcement, and opportunities for sustainable agriculture. The paper concludes that a comprehensive regulatory framework is needed that combines protection for farmers, environmental responsibility, transparent market regulation and agriculture policies that are resilient to climate change, without compromising one of these objectives. Finally, the study suggests a fully-fledged framework of legal and institutional measures for updating agricultural marketing and at the same time promoting ecological sustainability, market equity and sustaining the rural development of Punjab as a step towards meeting the commitments of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainable agricultural governance agenda for India.^[3]