Committee on e-NAM expansion submits report, suggests new platform for inter-State trade
An expert panel, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture of Karnataka, on the Market Yard platform of National Importance (MNI), presented its report to the Centre, proposing its implementation framework as well as recommending a set of measures related to building the legal framework necessary to make the state soggy (Agricultural Market Square) Possibility of trade.
As the Center felt the need for more concerted intervention to create greater scale of access to farm surplus produce through an efficient and seamless marketing system across the country for mandi-to-state trade, which the Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) could not counter, it was Formation of the expert committee in April this year.
Members from the Agricultural Marketing Councils of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha and Bihar were the other members of the expert panel. Besides, there was also a representative from the Small Farmers Agribusiness Confederation (SFAC), the agency in charge of implementing e-NAM and its strategic partner on the expert panel.
MNI platform
Although the e-NAM realization was pioneered in the agricultural marketing sector, the need was felt to obtain a competitive price for surplus produce from farmers which can only be possible through a platform in intra-Mande and intra-state trade, officials said. Officials said such a platform (MNI) is essential and necessary for an efficient and smooth marketing system across India by promoting quality-based trade with transparent price discovery mechanism.
The government promoted e-NAM, which was launched in April 2016, and has managed to connect 1,361 mandis in 23 countries through the platform. More than 1.75 crores farmers and 2.45 crores traders have registered on the e-NAM portal with a total trading volume of INR 2.79 crores till 3rd July.
Sources said the MNI platform was designed as an alternative to e-NAM to boost competition. However, if legal hurdles are removed regarding the introduction of appropriate changes in the state Agricultural Products Market Commission (APMC) law, even inter-state trade in the e-NAM platform could get a boost, the sources said.
exchange
It is believed that the committee has proposed reciprocity between countries to recognize the registration of merchants so that once a merchant is registered with MNI, he may be free to purchase from any country. Some experts are of the opinion that since this is achieved, each country may have to amend its APMC law appropriately, which can be leveraged by any platform, be it MNI, e-NAM, or those in the private sector.
“However, if the trading of multinational companies is limited to secondary trade, between traders, farmers may not be able to get the benefit as it will add to the cost of production,” said an official of the state’s Mandi Council.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that the center has always supported the idea of strengthening APMCs and making them more transparent and competitive with the advent of new advanced digital technologies by improving the infrastructure and services provided to farmers.
“The committee recommended the framework for the implementation of the MNI platform, the legal framework and reciprocity between countries for licensing and movement, the dispute settlement mechanism and the start-up strategy. This platform will provide an opportunity for farmers in the participating countries to sell their surplus produce outside the country’s borders,” the ministry said.