eNAM – National Agriculture Market: Objectives, Features

National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. It seeks to network the existing physical regulated wholesale market (known as APMC market) through a virtual platform to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. It promotes better marketing opportunities for the farmers to sell their produce through online competitive and transparent price discovery system and online payment facility. It also promotes prices commensurate with quality of produce.

eNAM

It seeks to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities by integrating 585 regulated markets (APMCs) with the common e-market platform ‘e-NAM’ by March 2018. Farmers will be able to get better price of their crop through E-Nam.

Objectives of eNAM

The objective of eNAM is to create a national e-market platform for transparent sale transactions and price discovery initially in regulated markets. The willing states accordingly enact suitable provisions in their APMC Act for promotion of e-trading by their State Agricultural Marketing Board/APMC.

Features of eNAM

  • Rs 75 lakhs allotted for every mandi
  • It provides single window services for all APMC related information and services.
  • The services offered includes commodity arrivals, quality & prices, buy & sell offers & e-payment settlement directly into farmers’ account.
  • Liberal licensing of traders / buyers and commission agents by State authorities without any pre-condition of physical presence or possession of shop /premises in the market yard
  • One license for a trader valid across all markets in the State
  • Harmonisation of quality standards of agricultural produce and provision for assaying (quality testing) infrastructure in every market to enable informed bidding by buyers
  • Single point levy of market fees, i.e on the first wholesale purchase from the farmer
  • Provision of Soil Testing Laboratories in/ or near the selected mandi to facilitate visiting farmers to access this facility in the mandi itself.

Implementing Agency of eNAM

Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India. M/s. Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. is the Strategic Partner (SP) who is responsible for development, operation and maintenance of the platform. The broad role of the Strategic Partner is comprehensive and includes writing of the software, customizing it to meet the specific requirements of the mandis in the States willing to integrate with NAM and running the platform

Progress of eNAM

So far, 585 Regulated Markets of 16 States and 2 Union Territories have been integrated to e-NAM platform. Government has also decided to integrate additional 415 markets by March, 2020. Common tradable parameters have so far been developed for 69 commodities

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