Karnataka logs on to national digital supply chain for agricultural markets, e-NAM

A pioneer in linking agriculture markets electronically, Karnataka has now boarded the national digital supply chain, allowing its farmers to sell their produce beyond the boundaries of the state.

This silent revolution began on Friday when farmers in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and Hubbali traded in maize and groundnuts using the e-National Agriculture Market platform.

Besides Hubbali, the wholesale market at Chincholi too has joined the e-NAM platform, along with 198 wholesale markets across seven states, allowing farmers to sell their produce without visiting the crowded markets, particularly during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The trade between markets in Hubbali and Kurnool also marked the integration of the e-NAM with the Unified Market Platform of Karnataka’s Rashtriya e-Market Services, promoted by the Karnataka State Agriculture Marketing Board.

“With the integration of 200 additional mandis (markets), the total number of e-NAM markets have now reached 785. By the end of this month, we intend to take that number to 1,000,” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.

Tomar said the interoperability of e-NAM and UMP will help farmers of Karnataka to sell their produce to large number of traders registered with e-NAM.

Even farmers from e-NAM mandis in other States will be able to sell their produce to Karnataka traders who are enrolled with ReMS platform of Karnataka, he said adding that this will also promote inter-state trade between the States on-boarded on e-NAM platform and Karnataka.

Launched in April 2016, e-NAM now has 1.66 crore farmers and 1.28 lakh traders registered across the country who have so far achieved a total trade volume of 3.4 crore tonnes and 37 lakh bamboos and coconuts worth Rs one lakh crore.

Last month, the Centre added two more options on the e-NAM platform that allows farmer producer organisations to trade from their collection centres and a “warehouse module” that allows farmers to sell their produce stored in registered warehouses.

“This would help farmers sell their produce without bringing it to the markets,” Tomar said.