In Maharashtra, 39 percent APMCs join e-NAM

Stakeholders believe that efforts should be taken to extend the scope of e-NAM. e-NAM, a pan-India electronic trade network, has linked 118 of the State's 306 Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), which is a device that connects existing physical APMC mandis that can be viewed online. 

Although all APMCs have implemented online gate entry and e-auction, only 67 APMCs have implemented e-payment. There are 623 subyards in the province, distributed throughout the districts. Last year, 13 lakh MT of grains worth 3,850 crore were e-auctioned, with e-payments totaling 98.56 crore. Every year, APMC mandis receive over 200 lakh MT of agricultural produce worth between Rs 45,000 and Rs 56,000 crore. 

‘The majority of farmers have not heard of e-NAM. When opposed to the trading that takes place in APMCs, physical trade appears to reign supreme. APMCs continue to be relied upon by small and marginal farmers. Farmers must be deliberately introduced to e-NAM,’ according to farmer Baba Pawar, who added that APMCs have created an environment and farmers are familiar with APMC operations.  

Maharashtra Farmers Producer Company (MahaFPC), a group of around 400 FPCs in the state, is attempting to persuade farmers to move to a different marketing scheme. Farmers are gradually but increasingly tapping alternatives, according to MahaFPC officials. 

‘Set up APMCs give the foundation to the offer of rural produce with the goal that ranchers get sufficient cost for their agrarian produce and are shielded from misuse by brokers and go between by offering low costs,’ the State Economic Survey 2020-21 said.

Farmers and traders should enter e-NAM because it encourages uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining procedures across integrated markets, eliminating knowledge asymmetry between buyers and sellers, and encouraging real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply, according to the central government. To promote pan-India trade in agricultural commodities, the Centre wants to link APMCs across the country via a single online market portal.