The Agriculture Agreement prohibits export subsidies on agricultural products unless the subsidies are specified in a member's lists of commitments. Where they are listed, the agreement requires WTO members to cut both the amount of money they spend on export subsidies and the quantities of exports that receive subsidies. Taking averages for 1986-90 as the base level, developed countries have agreed to cut the value of export subsidies by 36% over the six years starting in 1995 (24% over 10 years for developing countries).

Developed countries have also agreed to reduce the quantities of subsidized exports by 21% over the six years (14% over 10 years for developing countries). Least developed countries do not need to make any cuts. During the six-year implementation period, developing countries are allowed under certain conditions to use subsidies to reduce the costs of marketing and transporting exports.

From the above information, we can safely conclude that very soon, the days of protection will be over and Indian farmers, sooner than later, will have to contend with the forces of liberalization and globalization in their own backyards. But does this augur well for India?

India holds a position of eminence in WTO discussions, especially in the agriculture sector. Thus it will not be easy for the international community to design measures, which hamper the prospects of Indian agriculture. Having said this, there will certainly be some provisions in the WTO agreements, which might have an adverse impact on Indian farm goods in the short term. The Indian Government's response will be three-fold as specified in their website : Food security of our people, protection of the interests of domestic farmers & their livelihood as well as the need for export maximisation will be the guiding principles during the ongoing negotiations.

Thus, on the one hand though the Indian government would like to see more Indian agri-exports, it cannot risk the entry of cheaper agri-goods in India, for the fear of harming Indian farmers. It is a balancing act and it will have to be performed, not only by India, but also by other developing nations.

The domestic marketing of agricultural goods in India is loaded with problems : infrastructural inefficiencies, low productivity levels, a plethora of middlemen, low quality and lack of price transparency. The country has to address each of these issues very seriously to increase its share of world agri-trade. For a favourable macro-picture, it is crucial that the micro-elements fall into their proper place.

This is where APMCs fall into the picture. APMCs have been set up to regulate the sales of agri-products in their respective zones. But with the changing global economic order, this role has to go much beyond mere regulation - these bodies have to take upon themselves the role of facilitators - they have to encourage trade, they have to ensure it is done efficiently and they have to provide adequate infrastructure for doing so.

In the changed situation, APMCs have to add more value to the selling process. As already highlighted, there are too many layers currently between the Indian farmer and the consumer - APMCs would not like to merely be another layer but be responsible for creating an environment where the trade is free and fair. The seller must get a fair price and the buyer must have the freedom of choice.

APMCs will have to realize that in a liberalized agri-marketing environment, their expanded role will bring in increased transactions. Apart from this, the single most important factor to be kept in mind is efficiency of trade.

A few APMCs such as the ones in Azadpur (Delhi) and in Bangalore are beginning to realize this paradigm shift and are taking rectifying measures in time. Information available from Azadpur APMC web site (http://www.azadpurapmc.com) indicates that their revenue per trader (RPT) is 0.55 for the year 2000. Azadpur APMC deals with only fruits and vegetables and the comparable figure for MAPMC is 0.17, less than one-third. This demonstrates that there is ample scope for increase in trade volumes as well as efficiency at MAPMC.