Bengaluru: Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Tomar on Thursday launched the platform of platforms (PoP) under the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) project on the sidelines of the State Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers' Conference here. An equity grant of over Rs 37 crore was also released to 1,018 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) that will benefit about 3.5 lakh farmers, an official statement said.
It further said that with the introduction of PoP, farmers would be facilitated to sell the produce outside their State borders. This would increase farmers' digital access to multiple markets, buyers and service providers and bring transparency in business transactions with the aim of improving price search mechanism and quality commensurate price realisation.
According to the statement, 41 service providers from different platforms are covered under PoP facilitating various value chain services like trading, quality checks, warehousing, fintech, market information, and transportation. The PoP would create a digital eco system, which would benefit from the expertise of different platforms in different segments of the agricultural value chain.
Under the scheme, up to Rs 18 lakh financial aid per FPO would be provided for a period of three years. In addition, a loan of Rs. 2,000 for each farmer-member of the FPO within a limit of Rs 15 lakh per FPO would be available. There is also a provision of project loan or equivalent grant from any eligible lending institution of up to Rs.2 crore per FPO, the statement read.
In his address, Tomar said the Centre is working to improve the e-NAM, an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India, to make agricultural business even more transparent. He said 1,000 agricultural 'Mandis' (APMC markets) have so far been linked with e-NAM project and Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth business transaction has been generated.
"We are working further to improve the e-NAM platform for more transparency, Tomar said during the inaugural session of the two-day National Conference of Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers in the city. Tomar said the government wants to promote "digital" agriculture so that farmers do not have to go to the market and depend upon middlemen.
In this regard, he stressed the role of technology to track agricultural produce grown in a particular field. In the event of loss of crop due to calamities, we can instantly provide the compensation, if we create a database of crops in a particular field, the Minister explained. He said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working on a mission mode to improve the agriculture sector.
Tomar said Modi has stressed on natural farming and also insisted upon taking the 'PM Kisan Yojana' to the "saturation level". The Minister also said the government wants to popularise millets. In this context, Modi had urged the United Nations to dedicate a complete year on popularising millets across the globe. Accordingly, the United Nations General Assembly had declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. (PTI)
