Cold storage units to turn into mini market yards

Guntur: Cold storage units are poised to turn into mini agriculture market yards to provide better marketing facilities to the farmers in the State. The cold storage units will be upgraded. They will provide storage facility to farmers and also help them sell their produce directly to buyers.

• While providing storage facilities to farmers, these units will also enable them to sell their produce directly to buyers and help them secure better price
• These cold storage units will implement E-NAM introduced by the Centre
• There are 220 cold storage units in AP
• Majority are located in Guntur and Prakasam districts
• They will be upgraded into mini market yards in a phased manner

There are 220 cold storage units in the State, out of which 170 units are in Guntur and Prakasam districts. Remaining cold storage units are in Krishna and other districts.

They will be transformed into mini market yards in phases. The Central government is implementing the E-National Agriculture Marketing (E-NAM) to ensure a better price for the produce of the farmers. Following the orders of the Centre, the State government is contemplating to turn the cold storage units into a mini agriculture market yards to provide better marketing facilities to the farmers.

At present the farmer is going to the doorsteps of the buyer to sell his produce. In order to implement the E-NAM, the cold storage unit managements have to develop necessary infrastructure. If E-NAM is implemented, the buyer has to come to the doorsteps of the farmer to purchase agriculture produce. 

There is no need for farmers to transport the produce from cold storage units to the agriculture market yards and wait for two or three days. When the E-National Agriculture Market is implemented in the cold storage units, chillies, tobacco, pulses, cotton and turmeric will be sold in the cold storage units and the farmer gets a better price. 

Based on the quality, the farmers will upload quality and quantity of agriculture yield available in the E-NAM website. As soon as he gets better price, he will sell.  

First chillies testing lab will be set up in Guntur Mirchi Yard and later the facility will be extended to some more yards in the district. The agriculture market committees are encouraging the managements of cold storage units to implement the E-NAM and creating awareness about it. 

Cold storage units are applying to the Agriculture Market Committees to implement E-NAM and to turn the cold storage units as mini market yards. 
A higher official of the State Agriculture Market department on the condition of the anonymity said, “We have received 7 applications in Guntur district so far.  

All the cold storage units must implement E-NAM, and automatically they turn as mini market yards. When the buyer makes direct payment to the farmers, middle men will be eliminated.  If quality of chillies, turmeric, cotton is good based on the E-NAM website, the farmer will get orders from other States. He will get a better price.”

By V L Syam Sundar