Nellore fails to enrol its major crops in National Agriculture Market

Nellore: The district losing benefits for not enrolling the Agriculture Market Committees (AMCs) with the National Agriculture Market (NAM) portal for continuous market-related support. Even though, there are 46 mandals in the district only a single AMC of the Rapur mandal registered with the NAM. 

According to the officials, main aim of the e-NAM is creating national e-market platform for transparent sale transactions and price discovery initially in regulated markets which plays a significant role for supporting the farming community. The union government had started the portal for giving timely information to the stakeholders.

In fact, the enrolment process gives scope for support for 90 commodities/agriculture products in the programme. As the other AMCs failed to enrol in NAM, the district is losing support for crops such as paddy, groundnut, cotton, red gram, green gram, chilli, sesame, horse gram, Bengal gram, sunflower and coriander in some extent. Only lemon is being covered and this is also losing due to no awareness to the farmers.

Since, the portal gives support to the network for agriculture products and there would be benefits due to internal communication among the member states. 

One license for a trader valid across all markets in the state and single point levy of market fees on the first wholesale purchase from the farmer are the major benefits to the farmers. In Nellore, though the authorities had created awareness on e-NAM in two lemon markets at Podalakur and Rapur in the district still traders and farmers are not showing any interest to utilise it. 

Officials say the central government allocates Rs 70 lakh to each market which implements the programme. Centre has also sanctioned Rs 35 lakh for Podalakur market to implement the programme.

A senior official from the Marketing department said there is no clarity on the e-NAM programme to the farmers, who fear of quality of products from other parts. If they purchase lemon through the e-NAM, then they suspect its quality otherwise face losses. Officials are also not in a position to clarify all doubts of the central programme.

By P V Prasad