The Government of Karnataka has created APMCs in many towns to enable farmers to sell their produce at reasonable prices. Most APMCs have a market where traders and other marketing agents are provided stalls and shops to purchase agricultural produce from farmers. Farmers can sell their produce to agents or traders under the supervision of the APMC.

Prior to 2020, Farmers couldn’t sell produce outside the APMC mechanism. The APMC system made farmers vulnerable to traders’ and marketing agents’ price manipulations. The Government of India has considered improving the APMC Act to benefit all parties involved.

In 2020, the Government of Karnataka passed the The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which enables farmers to trade their produce anywhere without the intervention of APMCs. It also allowed Food processing companies to buy produce directly from farmers.