**Executive Summary**
This document outlines the Indian government's measures to monitor agricultural imports and exports to protect farmers' interests, as stated by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in Rajya Sabha. It details ongoing schemes and interventions, financial assistance programs through APEDA, and capacity-building initiatives carried out during 2025-26. The information was released on December 19, 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Government Oversight:**
* Continuous monitoring of import and export activities.
* Trade policy revisions to safeguard domestic interests.
* Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) monitors agricultural commodities and market conditions.
* Import trends are monitored to identify impacts on domestic production, trade, and food security.
* **Protection of Farmer Interests:**
* The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) reviews agricultural commodity imports and recommends measures (import duties/port restrictions).
* **Government Support Schemes:**
* Market intervention via Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement.
* Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) for commodities like onions to manage volatility.
* Market intelligence and buffer stocking by central agencies.
* Input and income support schemes, like PM-KISAN, to cushion income fluctuations.
* **APEDA Financial Assistance (FAS):**
* APEDA provides financial assistance to member exporters, including FPOs and FPCs.
* APEDA supports Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) implementation and certification.
* **Capacity Building and Training:**
* Approximately 1080 capacity building/training programs conducted during 2025-26.
* Focus on exporters including FPOs/FPCs/SHGs to link farmer groups to export supply chains.
* **International Exhibitions:**
* APEDA organizes participation for its member exporters (including FPOs/FPCs) in major international food exhibitions and buyer-seller meets.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Farmers**
* **Impact:** Protection from adverse impacts arising from market disruptions and unnecessary imports; facilitation to connect with international markets.
* **Action Required:** Participate in government schemes (MSP, PM-KISAN, etc.) and utilize APEDA's financial assistance and capacity-building programs.
**Stakeholder: Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) / Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs)**
* **Impact:** Access to financial assistance through APEDA, participation in international food exhibitions and buyer seller meets. Increased access to export markets.
* **Action Required:** Become members of APEDA, apply for financial assistance, and participate in APEDA-organized events to connect with global markets.
**Stakeholder: Agricultural Commodity Exporters**
* **Impact:** Financial assistance for certification and meeting international quality standards, access to training programs.
* **Action Required:** Register with APEDA, apply for financial assistance, and participate in capacity-building programs to enhance export capabilities.
**Stakeholder: State Government Agencies**
* **Impact:** Collaboration with APEDA in conducting capacity-building programs.
* **Action Required:** Partner with APEDA to deliver capacity building programs to exporters, FPOs/FPCs and SHGs.
Key Entities Referenced
Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW): The primary department reviewing agricultural commodity imports and recommending necessary measures.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA): Provides financial assistance to exporters and facilitates market access for farmers.
Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC): A committee including Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare that monitors agricultural commodities.
Minimum Support Price (MSP): Government supports farmers through market intervention through procurement under Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for notified crops.
PM-KISAN: Input and income support scheme to cushion income fluctuations.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
Government Monitors Agricultural Imports and
Exports to Protect Farmers’ Interests
प्रव तथ: 19 DEC 2025 7:32PM by PIB Delhi
The Government maintains continuous oversight over the country’s import and export activities and
revises trade policies as necessary to safeguard domestic interests.For essential agricultural commodities,
there is an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) including Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
as a member, which keeps a close and regular watch on essential agricultural commodities, analyzing
factors that affect their availability and market conditions. It also monitors any rise in imports to quickly
identify trends that may influence domestic production, trade, or food security. 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/Department. Further, Government supports farmers
through several ongoing schemes and interventions, including:
Market intervention through procurement under Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for notified
crops;
Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) operations for essential commodities such as onions to manage volatility;
Market intelligence and buffer stocking operations by Central agencies; and
Input and income support schemes, such as PM-KISAN, to cushion income fluctuations.
These measures collectively aim to mitigate adverse impacts on farmers arising from market disruptions.
Department of Commerce through the Agricultural and Processed food products Export
Development Authority (APEDA) provides financial assistance to its member exporters including, Farmer
Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) from across the country
underfinancial Assistance Scheme (FAS).
Specifically with respect to linking farmers to global markets, APEDA provides financial assistance for
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.
In addition to this, around 1080 of 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 in order to provide linkage of the farmer groups to export supply
chain and to promote the entrepreneurs for becoming prospective exporters.
Finally, APEDA organized participation of its member exporters including FPO’s 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 etc.
This information was given by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Ramnath
Thakur in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.*****
RC/AR/DK
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