Calcutta, March 2: The Mamata Banerjee government today amended the agriculture produce marketing act to allow the entry of major private players in the trade so that better prices were ensured for commodities produced by farmers.

But senior bureaucrats said the measure would work if the state's opposition to policies like contract farming was reconsidered.

In the amendment passed in the Assembly, the government has made it clear that any company could trade in agriculture produces by securing a single licence, which can be obtained from Calcutta.

As of now, the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1972, prevents a company from doing business freely as it needs to obtain licences separately for more than 300 regulated markets in the state.

"The amendment will make the trade in the agriculture produce sector easy for any agency. A bigger market will be opened for farmers," said agricultural marketing minister Tapan Dasgupta.

But senior officials feel opening the market for major private players would not help farmers realise proper price.

"Opening the market for major players is a good move but some other steps like allowing contract farming is required to make things happen for farmers," said a senior Nabanna official, who added that major private players needed agriculture produces of certain quality and variety for their business.

For example, the official explained, multinational companies, which make potato chips, need chipsona variety. "Bengal is a major producer of potato... But it produces mainly table variety of potato, which would not attract multinational companies here even if the procedure of doing business is made easy," the official added.

Bengal produces a large quantity of jyoti variety, known as the table variety and not used by food processing units.

The farmers face a lot of troubles in realising prices for rice and potato, two major agriculture produces in the state.

In case of rice, Bengal produces common varieties but private players need special aroma rice, which could be produced if contract farming is allowed.

"Farmers would get seeds and fertiliser from agencies and a secured buyer for their produces if contract farming is allowed. If the markets don't have enough quality produce, no company would enter the trade. So, making the market useful for private players is equally important," said an agriculture department official.

A section of officials, however, said there was a silver line in the horizon after the government prepared a policy to allow private players to go for an indirect form of contract farming in the horticulture sector.

"According to the plan, the private players have to sign contract with the farmers' co-operatives, not an individual farmer, for produces like flower and some vegetables. This gives us hope that the government could rethink its policy of not allowing contract farming in the state," said an official.