PESHAWAR, July 3: The NWFP will have a firm grip over purchase and sale of agricultural and livestock produce, once a legislation recently adopted by the provincial assembly comes into force.

The North-West Frontier Province Agriculture and Livestock Produce Markets Act, 2007, which will be sent to the NWFP governor for approval, gives immense powers to the provincial government to control the agriculture and livestock produce markets.

The NWFP government, under the new law, may declare an area as ‘market area’ and specify agriculture and livestock produce in that area which will be controlled by the government.

No one will be authorised to set up or use any place for purchase and sale of produce in an area declared as “market area” for agricultural or livestock produce.

Under the law, a dealer working without a licence in a market area can be jailed for up to three months or fined up to Rs3,000, or can be awarded both the punishments.

The government will establish a market committee for every market area, which will comprise 10 or 17 representatives of the government, farmers, authorised dealers, brokers and consumers of the respective area.

A committee will enforce the new act in its market area and will establish an agriculture produce market. It will issue licenses to brokers, weigh-men, measurers, surveyors, warehousemen, changers etc. in the market area. No one will be allowed to work in the market area without a licence.

A market committee can appoint a sub-committee for carrying out any work or reporting on any matter. It can appoint staff for managing the agriculture produce market.

Under the law, a market committee will set up a separate market committee fund wherein all money received by the committee will be deposited. Expenditure incurred by a market committee will be defrayed out of the fund.

The government will set up an institute for training members and staff of market committees, dealers, processors and other market functionaries and for promoting research in agricultural or livestock produce, its marketing and other related subjects.