Short title, extent and commencement

This Act may be called the Nagaland Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2005.

(2) It extends to the whole of Nagaland.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(1)  “agricultural produce” means all produce and commodities, whether processed or unprocessed, of agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, sericulture, livestock including products of live stock like  fleeces (raw wool), skins of animals etc. as well as forest products as are specified in the schedule or declared by the Government, by notification, from time to time and further includes combination of two or more such produce or commodities;

(2)  “agriculturist” means a persons who is a resident of the notified area of the market and who is engaged in production of agricultural produce by himself or by hired labour or otherwise, but does not include any market functionary and , in case of any doubt in this behalf, the decision of the Deputy Commissioner of the District in which the persons is engaged in the production or growth of the agricultural produce shall be final;

(3) “bill” means bill issued by the traders as prescribed;

(4) “board” means the Nagaland State Agricultural Marketing Board established under Section 60 of this Act;

“business” means purchase, sale, processing, value addition, storage, transportation and all connected activities relating to agricultural produce;

(6) “buyer” means a persons or a firm or a company or a co-operative Society or a Government Agency or a Public undertaking or a Corporation or a commission agent, or a combination of more than one of these bodies, who himself or on behalf of any other person  or agent, buys or agrees to buy agricultural produce in the market area as notified under this Act;

(7) “bye-law” means a bye-law made by the Market Committee under this Act and Rules that may be made;

(8) “broker” means an agent who, in consideration of a commission merely negotiates and brings about a contract for his principal trader but does not receive, deliver, transport or pay for the purchase of, or collect the payment for, the sale of notified agricultural produce;

(9)“commission agent” means a persons, who, on behalf of his principal trader, and, in consideration of a commission or a  percentage on the amount involved in such transaction, buys agricultural produce and makes payment, keeps it in his custody and delivers it to the principal trader in due course, or who receives and takes in his custody  agricultural produce, sends for sale within the market area or from outside the market area, sells the same in the market area and collects payments thereof from the buyer and remits the sale proceeds to his principal trader;

(10) “contract farming” means farming by a person called contract farming producer under a written agreement with another persons called contract farming sponsor to the effect that the farmer will sell his farm produce to the latter as per terms of a  written agreement;

(11) “contract farming producer” means individual agriculturist or association of agriculturists or a village council or a similar body in whom the ownership or control of agricultural lands vests temporarily or permanently, who, by written agreement, agrees to sell his/its agricultural produce to a contract farming sponsor;

(12)”contract farming agreement” means the agreement made for contract farming between contract farming producer and contract farming sponsor;

(13) “Deputy Commissioner” means the Deputy  Commissioner of the District or any officer empowered to discharge the duties of the Deputy Commissioner under the provision of this Act;
 

(14)”direct marketing” means selling and buying of the agricultural produces by the producers and buyers directly to and from, the entrepreneurs, company or dealers, producers without processing the transactions through normal market regulatory systems;

(15)”Director” means the person appointed by the State Government as Director  of Agricultural Marketing and includes any officer performing his functions under the orders of the said Government;

(16) “export” means dispatch of agricultural produce to a place outside India under the laws in force;

(18) “import” means bringing agricultural produce from outside  India to a place in Nagaland through a place or places in India under the laws in force;

(19)”importer” means a person or a firm who or which imports agricultural produce from outside India;

(20)”market” means a market established under section 4 of this Act which includes market area, market yards and sub-market yards and market committee;

(21)”market area” means an area notified under Section 4 of this Act;

(22)”market charges” mean and include charges on account of, or in respect of commission, brokerage, weighing, measuring, loading and unloading and carrying, cleaning, drying, sieving, stitching, stacking, hiring of bags, stamping, bagging, storing, warehousing, grading, surveying, transporting, processing and other activities directly or indirectly connected to the purposes of this Act;

(23)”market committee” means the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) established under this Act;

(24)market functionary” means a trader, a commission agent, buyer, helper, processor, a stockist and such other person as  may be declared under the rules or bye-laws to be a market functionary;

(25)”market yard” in relation to a market area means a specified place and includes any enclosure, building or locality declared as  such in any market area by the State Government or the Director/Member-Secretary/Managing Director by notification;

(26)”marketing means all activities involved in the flow of agricultural produce from the production point commencing from the stage of harvest till these reach the ultimate consumers viz. grading, processing, storage, transport, channels of  distribution and all other functions involved in the process;

(27)”Member-Secretary” means the Member-Secretary of the Nagaland State Agricultural Marketing Board, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Board, so appointed by the State Government under this Act;

(28)”notified agricultural produce” means any agricultural produce notified under section 4 of this Act;

(29)”private market yard” means such place other than the market yard/sub-market yard in the market area where infrastructure has been developed and managed by a person for marketing of notified agricultural produce holding a  license for this purpose under this Act;

(30)”processing” means any one or more of a series of treatments relating to powdering, crushing, decorticating, dehusking, polishing, pressing, curing, or any other manual, mechanical, chemical or physical treatment to which raw agricultural produce or its product is subjected to;

(31)” processor” means a person who undertakes processing of any notified agricultural produce on his own accord or on payment of a charge;

(32)”registration” means any registration done under this Act;

(33)”regulation” means a regulation made by the Board/Director or Member-Secretary, in accordance with the provision of this Act;

(34)”retail sale” in relation to a notified agricultural produce means a sale not exceeding such quantity as the market committee may by bye-law, determine to be a retail sale in respect thereof;

(35)”rule” means a rule made under this Act by the State Government;

(36)”Secretary” means, the Chief Executive Officer of the Market Committee appointed under Section 36 of this Act;

(37)”seller” means a person who sells or agrees to sell any agricultural produce;

(38)”special market”  means a market notified as such and includes a market for special commodities;

(39)”State Government” means all or any of the functionaries which includes the Chief Minister, the Minister in-charge of  Agriculture, the Secretary or any other officer  in-charge of the Department of Agriculture, by whatever designation, the  Director of the Agricultural Marketing, the Member-Secretary of the Nagaland Agricultural State Marketing Board or any other officer entrusted with duties to  carry out the purposes of this Act;

(40)“sub-market yard” in relation to a market area means a specified place other than market yard and includes any enclosure, building or locality, declared as such in any market area by the State Government or the Director/Member-Secretary by notification.

(41)”trader” means a person who in  his normal course of business, buys or sells any notified agricultural produce, and includes a person engaged in processing of agricultural produce;

(42) “transportation” means conveying agricultural produce by a vehicle drawn by man, animal or any other power from one place to another in the course of its marketing;

(43)”transporter” means a person or a firm who or which transports the agricultural produce;

(44)”value addition” means any activity performed like processing, grading, packing etc., in relation to a agricultural produce by which the market value of the produce is increased; and

(45)”year” means the year as may be notified by the Government from time to time.