Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.

This Act is enacted to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner. The Act consists of 4 Chapters: Preliminary (I); Farming Agreement (II); Dispute Settlement (III); and Miscellaneous (IV).
In the Act, farming agreement means a written agreement entered into between a farmer and a Sponsor, or a farmer, a Sponsor and any third party, prior to the production or rearing of any farming produce of a predetermined quality, in which the Sponsor agrees to purchase such farming produce from the farmer and to provide farm services; "farmer" means an individual engaged in the production of farming produce by self or by hired labour or otherwise, and includes the Farmer Producer Organisation.
A farmer may enter into a written farming agreement in respect of any farming produce. Such agreement may provide for the terms and conditions for supply of such produce and the terms related to supply of farm services. The minimum period of the farming agreement shall be for one crop season or one production cycle of livestock, and the maximum period shall be five years. The price to be paid for the purchase of a farming produce may be determined and mentioned in the farming agreement itself. In case such price is subject to variation, such agreement shall explicitly provide for a guaranteed price to be paid for such produce or a clear price reference for any additional amount over and above the guaranteed price to ensure best value to the farmer. Sponsors are prohibited from acquiring ownership rights or making permanent modifications on farmer’s land or premises. The Act further provides for quality, grade and standards of farming produce, sale or purchase of farming produce, linkage of farming agreement with insurance or credit, alteration or termination of farming agreement, establishment of Registration Authority, conciliation board for dispute settlement, etc.