“Central government is talking with states to sort of dismantle that and move towards e National Marketing for farmers,” added Sitharaman
New Delhi: On November 12 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that states have been requested to reject the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) and adopt the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) so that farmers get a better price for their produce.
The Union Government has pushed e-NAM very much, and many states have agreed for it, also to take it up at their level, Sitharaman said at an event organized by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
“Our government is also making sure that the states are cajoled to reject the APMC together with this. It has served its purpose at one time there’s no doubt. But today there are many difficulties to associate with the agricultural produce market committee, in which at every state level has become not so efficient in helping the farmers find better price points for their produce,” she said.
“Central government is talking with states to sort of dismantle that and move towards e National Marketing for farmers,” added Sitharaman.
A pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities Electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM).
Eight States so far 21 e-NAM mandis namely had joined hands to star inter-state trade with e-NAMUttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh.
There are 136 inter-State transactions and 14 commodities which include vegetables, pulses, cereals, oilseeds, spices, etc. that have been traded under interstate trade through the e-NAM platform in a short span of time.
Around 25 commodities initially started with, e-trade facilities have been provided on 124 commodities with tradable parameters on the e-NAM portal. Through inter-State trade, farmers get better market access, more buyers/ traders & realize better prices for their produce.
The Finance Minister also said that she had in the Budget announced the formation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to that farmers have easy access to institutional finance.
Sitharaman added FPOs have large clusters or groups of farmers who are being brought together so that credit and other assistance can be extended to them and their marketing issues are also addressed with a clear objective of making the products earn the money that it should be.
Sitharaman also said that the central government is looking at acknowledging a more than proportionate dependence on rural life and agriculture and further emphasized the immediate need for taking up water management and water-related stress points.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
