1. Short title and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Farmers (Empowerment and
Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 5th June, 2020.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “APMC yard” means the physical premises covering Agriculture Produce Market Committee
Yard, by whatever name called, established for regulating markets and trade in farming produce
under any State Act;
(b) “company” means a company as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Companies Act,
2013(18 of 2013);
(c) “electronic trading and transaction platform” means a platform set up to facilitate direct and
online buying and selling for conduct of trade and commerce of farming produce through a network
of electronic devices and internet applications;
(d) “farm services” includes supply of seed, feed, fodder, agro-chemicals, machinery and
technology, advice, non-chemical agro-inputs and such other inputs for farming;
(e) “farmer” means an individual engaged in the production of farming produce by self or by
hired labour or otherwise, and includes the Farmer Producer Organisation;
(f) “Farmer Producer Organisation” means an association or group of farmers, by whatever name
called,—
(i) registered under any law for the time being in force; or
(ii) promoted under a scheme or programme sponsored by the Central Government or the
State Government;
(g) “farming agreement” means a written agreement entered into between a farmer and a Sponsor,
or a farmer, a Sponsor and any third party, prior to the production or rearing of any farming produce
of a predetermined quality, in which the Sponsor agrees to purchase such farming produce from the
farmer and to provide farm services.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, the term “farming agreement” may include—
(i) “trade and commerce agreement”, where the ownership of commodity remains with the
farmer during production and he gets and price of produce on its delivery as per the agreed terms
with Sponsor;
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(ii) “production agreement”, where the Sponsor agrees to provide farm services, either fully
or partially and to bear the risk of output, but agrees to make payment to the farmer for the
services rendered by such farmer; and
(iii) such other agreements or a combination of agreements specified above;
(h) “farming produce” includes—
(i) foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils, all kinds of cereals like wheat, rice or
other coarse grains, pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, sugarcane and products of poultry,
piggery, goatery, fishery and dairy, intended for human consumption in its natural or processed
form;
(ii) cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates;
(iii) raw cotton, whether ginned or unginned;
(iv) cotton seeds and raw jute;
(i) “firm” means a firm as defined in section 4 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932);
(j) “force majeure” means any unforeseen external event, including flood, drought, bad weather,
arthquake, epidemic outbreak of disease, insect-pests and such other events, which is unavoidable and
beyond the control of parties entering into a farming agreement;
(k) “notification” means a notification published by the Central Government or the State
Government, as the case may be, in the Official Gazette and the expression “notified” shall be
construed accordingly;
(l) “person” includes—
(i) an individual;
(ii) a partnership firm;
(iii) a company;
(iv) a limited liability partnership;
(v) a co-operative society;
(vi) a society; or
(vii) any association or body of persons duly incorporated or recognised as a group under any
ongoing programmes of the Central Government or the State Government;
(m) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(n) “Registration Authority” means an authority notified as such by the State Government under
section 12;
(o) “Sponsor” means a person who has entered into a farming agreement with the farmer to
purchase a farming produce;
(p) “State” includes Union territory.