On Thursday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, launched the Platform of Platforms (POP) under the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) on the sidelines of the State Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers Conference in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
An equity grant of over Rs 37 crore was also released to 1,018 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) that will benefit about 3.5 lakh farmers.
E-NAM and Platform of Platforms
e-NAM integrates the platforms of service providers as a “Platform of Platforms”, which includes
- Composite Service Providers (Service Providers who provide holistic services for the trading of agricultural produce including quality analysis, trading, payment systems, and logistics),
- Logistics Service Providers,
- Quality Assurance Service Provider,
- Cleaning, Grading, Sorting & Packaging Service Provider,
- Warehousing Facility Service Provider,
- Agricultural Input Service Provider,
- Technology Enabled Finance & Insurance Service Provider, Information Dissemination Portal (Advisory Services, crop forecasting, weather updates, capacity building for farmers, etc.) and
- Other platforms (e-commerce, international agri-business platforms, barter, private market platforms, etc.).
The inclusion of various service providers not only adds to the value of the e-NAM platform but also gives the users of the platform the option to avail of services from different service providers.
It enables farmers, FPOs, traders, and other stakeholders to access a wide variety of goods and services across the agricultural value chain through a single window, thereby giving more options to the stakeholders.
Moreover, selecting a good quality Goods/Service Provider saves the time and labor of the stakeholders.
The POP can be accessed through the e-NAM mobile app which can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
Equity Grants to FPOs
On the occasion, Shri Tomar released an equity grant of more than Rs 37 crore to 1,018 FPOs under the CSS, which will benefit about 3.5 lakh farmers, leading to the goal of setting up 10 thousand FPOs.
The Producer Members’ equity, supplemented by a similar equity grant from the Central Government, would strengthen the financial base of the FPOs and help them to avail loans from financial institutions for their projects and working capital requirements for business development.
Under the scheme, up to Rs. 18 lakh financial aid per FPO will be provided for a period of 3 years. In addition, a loan of Rs. 2,000 for each farmer member of the FPO within a limit of Rs.15 lakh per FPO will be available.
There is also a provision of a project loan or equivalent grant from any eligible lending institution of up to Rs.2 crore per FPO.
Coffee Table Book on e-NAM
The Coffee Table Book released by the Agriculture Minister showcases the endeavor and journey of e-NAM in bringing transparency and efficiency in the trade of agricultural products in the country through innovation and technology.
Coffee Table Book on e-NAM focuses on showcasing the benefits and success of farmers and stakeholders by facilitating the digitization of APMC mandis.