The turnover of the e-NAM digital platform, which was launched in April 2016, witnessed a significant 32% growth to reach Rs 74,656 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23, compared to 2020-21. This surge can be attributed to the increasing participation of farmers, traders, and FPOs.
The adoption of the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) has gained momentum as more states now allow the trading of agricultural commodities through this digital wholesale agri-marketing platform. Consequently, there has been a notable increase in trading activities both within the state and at the inter-state level.
According to an official from the agriculture ministry, although the volume of inter-mandi trade constitutes a small portion of the overall turnover of e-NAM, amounting to Rs 17,000 crore in April-June of the fiscal year 2023-24, it signifies a gradual transition towards the digital platform. This shift is primarily driven by farmers' utilization of the platform for better price discovery.
The official stated, "With states gradually recognizing the potential of the pan-India digital marketplace, agricultural trade between states has also begun taking place on the e-NAM platform."
Sources have revealed that since the beginning of the year, inter-state trade has been facilitated through the e-NAM platform. Farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan have been selling various commodities, including potato, apples, mustard, ragi, silk cocoon, chana, soyabean, and jeera, to buyers in Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
In the past six months or so, there has been a notable increase in trading activities among various markets within states involving a range of commodities. These commodities include copra (Tamil Nadu), dry fish, coconut, betel leaf, and tamarind (Odisha), soybean (Maharashtra), jeera (Rajasthan), tomato, and raw mango (West Bengal), as well as mustard and vegetables (Jharkhand).
Nilkanth Gorai, CEO of Nirsha Nupur Producer Company, a farmer producer organization (FPO) based in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, shared, "Instead of selling vegetables and other commodities to agents, we have started utilizing the e-NAM platform for selling, which enables us to obtain better prices through open bidding." as told to ICCBizNews.
Recently, Uttar Pradesh has permitted traders from outside the state to purchase potatoes, tomatoes, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, mangoes, green chillies, carrots, and ladyfinger from farmers using the e-NAM platform.
Traders from outside Tamil Nadu, who now possess unified licenses, are now engaged in the procurement and trading of copra, groundnut, turmeric, cotton, maize, paddy, bajra, and moth using the e-NAM platform.
With the increasing participation of farmers, traders, and FPOs, the turnover of the e-NAM digital platform has witnessed a remarkable 32% growth to reach Rs 74,656 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23, as compared to 2020-21. It is anticipated that the turnover on the platform will surpass Rs 1 trillion in the current fiscal year.
According to the agriculture ministry, since its launch seven years ago, the e-NAM platform has recorded a trade worth Rs 2.79 trillion.
However, it is important to note that the trade conducted on the e-NAM platform still represents a smaller proportion of the total trade in agricultural commodities in the country, excluding milk and marine products, which is estimated to be around Rs 6 trillion.
In recent developments, farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan have begun selling their produce through electronic negotiable warehouse receipts (eNWRs) on the digital marketplace for agricultural trade.
The e-NAM platform presently facilitates online trading of 209 agricultural, horticultural, and other commodities as notified by the respective state governments.
Currently, the e-NAM platform is integrated with 1,361 mandis across 27 states and Union Territories. Additionally, there are approximately 17.56 million registered farmers, 2,761 FPOs, 0.24 million traders, and around 0.1 million commission agents associated with e-NAM.
