With more states opening up or facilitating trade of agricultural commodities on the government’s electronic – National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), trade on the digital wholesale platform in the first quarter of the current fiscal crossed Rs 18,990 crore, up 12% on year.
Sources told FE that there has also been a significant spurt in inter-mandi and inter-state trading of agri-commodities on the digital platform, even though on a very low base.
e-NAM integrates 1389 mandis across 27 states.
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In the last five years, trade on the digital wholesale market run by the Small Farmers’ Agri Business Consortium, a body under the agriculture ministry has increased by 124% to Rs 78,424 crore in FY24 from Rs 34,940 crore in 2019-20.
Officials said that while the volume of farm gate, inter-state and inter-mandi trade is still a small portion of total turnover of e-NAM, it indicates a gradual shift to the digital platform, being used for better price discovery by the farmers.
In the first quarter of 2024-25, the value of inter-mandi trade was Rs 434 crore, up 29% on year. In FY24, there has been a 130% spike in inter-mandi trade on e-NAM to Rs 1660 crore on year. In terms of inter-state trade, which was not happening a year ago, there has been an increase since last fiscal.
The total traded value of commodities on the digital platform using the farmgate model last fiscal has been Rs 94 crore compared to a very small amount traded in FY23. In the first quarter of 2024-25, the farmgate sales by the farmers were Rs 12.8 crore up 219% on year.
The ministry has urged states to relax norms including allowing traders from outside to buy and sell commodities without bank guarantee, provisioning of unified license for seamless statewide trade access and procurement from farm gate.
The e-NAM platform currently allows online trading in 219 agricultural, horticultural and other commodities notified by respective state governments.
Sources said there are estimated to be around 7000 mandis in the country and after the recommendation from mandi boards of respective states, the marketplace for agricultural produce comes on board of e-NAM.
At present, 1,389 mandis in 27 states and Union Territories are integrated with the e-NAM platform, which was launched in April 2016. At present, 17.74 million farmers, 3803 FPOs, 0.25 million traders and around 0.12 million commission agents are registered with e-NAM.
The mandis integrated into the digital platform since its launch in April 2016 includes Tamil Nadu (157), Rajasthan (145), Gujarat (144), Maharashtra (133), Uttar Pradesh (125) and Haryana (108).
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim-budget speech in February, 2024 had stated “e-NAM is providing services to 18 million farmers with a trading volume of Rs 3 trillion,”.
While stating that the e-NAM is the only digital platform with no user charges are being levied on the transaction, the agriculture ministry has urged the central agencies such as Food Corporation of India, farmers’ cooperative NAFED and others engaged in procurement and selling of grain, pulses and other agricultural produce to use the platform for better price discovery.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
