National Agri Market

The Small Farmers’ Agri Business Consortium (SFAC), a registered society of DAC, has been appointed as the sole promoter of the prestigious mission National Agriculture Market (NAM). SFAC has been mandated to develop an electronic market and maintain with a strategic player. It will integrate the operations of 585 Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) marketyards across the country into the network to create a national e-market for agricultural commodities. The Central Government has embarked upon the mission to boost the agricultural sector for the growth and development of the nation’s economy.

With nearly 58 per cent of its people continuing to depend upon agriculture for their livelihood, the critical role of the sector cannot be gainsaid The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation in the Union Government’s Ministry of Agriculture sees integration of agri-markets across the country through the e-platform as an important measure for overcoming the challenges posed by the present agri-marketing system namely - fragmentation of State into multiple market areas, each administered by separate APMC, multiple levy of mandi fees, requirement for multiple license for trading in different APMCs, licensing barriers leading to conditions of monopoly, poor quality of infrastructure and low use of technology, information asymmetry, opaque process for price discovery, high level of market charges, movement controls, etc.

The need to unify the markets both at State and National level is, therefore, clearly the requirement of time, in order to provide better price to farmers, improve supply chain, reduce wastages and create a unified national market. SFAC will implement the national e-platform in 3 phases covering 250, 200 and 135 mandis during 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. Provisions are also being made for establishing soil testing laboratories in the Mandis. Big private mandis will also be allowed access to the e-platform for purposes of price discovery.

However they will not be supported with any funds for equipment / infrastructure. For integration with the e-platform the States/UTs will need to undertake prior reforms in respect of (i) a single license to be valid across the State, (ii) single point levy of market fee and (iii) provision for electronic auction as a mode for price discovery. Only those States/UTs that have completed these three pre-requisites will be eligible for assistance under the scheme.