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Centre bid to strengthen agricultural marketing
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Friday, 31 July, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our bureau, Mumbai
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The Central Government has intensified efforts to strengthen agricultural marketing and improve farmers' access to fair and remunerative prices through a range of policy initiatives, digital platforms and infrastructure development programmes, even as agricultural marketing remains a State subject.
A key initiative, the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), has emerged as a major digital trading platform by virtually integrating Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) across the country. The online marketplace enables transparent bidding, improved price discovery, access to a wider pool of buyers and direct payment of sale proceeds into farmers' bank accounts.
As of June 30, 2026, e-NAM had registered 1.89 crore farmers and 2.78 lakh traders. The platform has also facilitated a steady rise in inter-state agricultural trade, with transaction volumes increasing from 563 metric tonnes (MT) worth Rs 37 lakh in 2018-19 to 2,984.3 MT valued at Rs14.28 crore in 2025-26. Cumulative inter-state trade on the platform has reached 28,566 MT, valued at Rs 83.95 crore. The average number of trader bids per lot has also increased from 2.1 in 2016-17 to 2.8 in 2025-26, indicating stronger competition among buyers.
The government said the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) has achieved its target, with 10,000 FPOs now registered nationwide. Since the scheme's launch in 2020, the cumulative turnover of these farmer collectives has crossed Rs 20,340 crore, strengthening farmers' bargaining power through aggregation and collective marketing.
To improve post-harvest management and market infrastructure, the Centre has sanctioned 12,353 storage infrastructure projects with a combined capacity of 369.18 lakh MT, along with 6,901 non-storage projects under the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) scheme over the past decade.
Under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), interest subvention support has been extended to 18,893 warehouses, 3,110 cold storage and cold chain projects, and 2,105 integrated primary and secondary processing units. Additionally, the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) has facilitated the creation of around 1.76 lakh infrastructure units, including pack houses, cold storages, refrigerated vans, ripening chambers, pre-cooling and processing facilities.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has also expanded post-harvest infrastructure through the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). As of June 30, 2026, 1,256 projects had been completed or made operational under the scheme, benefiting nearly 37.76 lakh farmers.
Meanwhile, the World's Largest Grain Storage Programme, implemented by the Ministry of Cooperation, has completed construction of storage facilities in 313 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), creating a storage capacity of 1.80 lakh metric tonnes. The initiative is aimed at helping farmers avoid distress sales, improve market access and reduce dependence on intermediaries.
The government also highlighted findings from NITI Aayog's 2020 and 2025 evaluation reports, which recognised the Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) as an effective intervention for improving market infrastructure, promoting competitive markets and enhancing price realisation for farmers. The reports noted that more than 60 per cent of beneficiaries were using post-harvest infrastructure and crop processing facilities created under the scheme, while integrated grading and storage facilities linked with horticulture clusters, FPOs and self-help groups recorded better utilisation.
According to the evaluation, e-NAM has strengthened transparent trading, improved price discovery, facilitated better contract negotiations and enhanced farmers' access to institutional finance, contributing to greater efficiency in agricultural marketing across the country.
The Centre reiterated that while agriculture and agricultural marketing are State subjects, it continues to complement state efforts through a wide range of Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored schemes covering credit, insurance, income support, irrigation, mechanisation, marketing, digital agriculture, farmer collectives, infrastructure and crop procurement to improve productivity and farmers' incomes.
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