Q. What is/are the advantage/ advantages of implementing the ‘National Agriculture Market’ scheme?

  1. It is a pan-India electronic trading portal for agricultural commodities.
  2. It provides the farmers access to nationwide market, with prices commensurate with the quality of their produce.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  • 1 only
  • 2 only
  • Both 1 and 2
  • Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

National Agriculture Market (e-NAM):
  • e-NAM or the e-trading platform (online trading portal) for the National Agriculture Market (NAM) was launched by the Prime Minister of India, on April 2016.
  • e – National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal that nets the prevailing Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) Mandis for making a united national market for agricultural commodities.
  • The e-NAM project would operate via the online portal that is linked to the states’ Mandis (Wholesale markets). All the participating states will be providing the software (Website and Mobile Application) for e-NAM at no cost.
  • It is completely funded by the Government of India.
  • Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
  • Vision: To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
  • Mission: Integration of APMCs across the country through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agriculture commodities, providing better price discovery through a transparent auction process based on the quality of produce along with timely online payment.
  • Features:
    • A National e-market platform for transparent sale transactions and price discovery in regulated markets, kisan mandis, warehouses and private markets.
    • Liberal Licensing of traders/buyers and commission agents by State authorities without any pre-condition of physical presence or possession of shop/premises in the market yard.
    • One license for a trader is valid across all markets in the State.
    • Harmonization of quality standards of agricultural produce and provisions of assaying (quality testing) infrastructure in every market to enable informed bidding by buyers.
    • Restriction of agriculture Produce Marketing Committee’s (APMC) jurisdiction to within the APMC market yard/sub yard instead of a geographical area (the market area) at present.
    • Single point levy of market fees, i.e. on the first wholesale purchase from the farmer.
  • In 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has launched three new features of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform.
    • Integration of Negotiable Warehouse Receipt System (e-NWRs) Module with e-NAM
      • Under it, a warehouse trading module with payment feature is launched.
      • It will enable small and marginal farmers to directly trade their stored produce from selected Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) registered warehouses which are declared deemed market by the State.
    • FPO trading Module
      • It will enable Farmer Producers’ Organisations (FPOs) to upload the picture of their produce and quality parameters from their premise/collection centres for bidding.
      • Distant bidders can visualise the produce before bidding by seeing the pictures and quality.
      • After successful bidding, FPOs can deliver the produce from their premises or by bringing it to mandi.
    • Launch of Logistic Module
      • A provision has been made for linking large logistic aggregator platforms providing choices to users.
        • Presently, e-NAM provides a database of individual transporters to the traders.
      • Traders will be able to use the link to navigate to the logistics provider’s website and select appropriate services.
      • With these additions, more than 3,75,000 number of trucks from large logistic providers would be added for logistic purpose.
Negotiable Warehouse Receipt System
  • It was launched in 2011 but the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
  • Farmers can seek loans from banks against the warehouse receipts issued to them against their storage.
  • These receipts issued by the warehouses registered with the WDRA would become a fully negotiable instrument backed by a Central legislation.
  • The Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System was launched in 2017.
Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority
  • It was constituted on 26th October 2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007.
  • It is a statutory authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • The Act provides for the establishment of the WDRA to exercise the powers conferred on it and to perform the functions assigned to it under the Act, Rules and Regulations for the development and regulation of warehouses, negotiability of warehouse receipts and promote orderly growth of the warehousing business in the country.