- 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.
- Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
• Vision:
To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
• Mission:
Integration of APMCs across the country through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agriculture commodities, providing better price discovery through a transparent auction process based on the quality of products along with timely online payment.
• eNAM coverage:
• Operation of eNAM:
The eNAM electronic trading platform has been created with an investment by the Government of India (through the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare). It offers a “plug-in” to any market
yard existing in a State (whether regulated or private). The special software developed for eNAM is available to each mandi which agrees to join the national network free of cost with necessary customisation to conform to the regulations of each State Mandi Act.
• Conditions for joining eNAM:
States interested to integrate their mandis with eNAM are required to carry out following three reforms in their APMC Act:
- Single trading license (Unified) to be valid across the state
- Single point levy of market fee across the state
- Provision for e-auction/ e-trading as a mode of price discovery
•Difference between eNAM and existing mandi structure:
eNAM is not a parallel marketing structure but rather a device to create a national network of physical mandis which can be accessed online. It seeks to leverage the physical infrastructure of the mandis through an online trading portal, enabling buyers situated even outside the Mandi/ State to participate in trading at the local level.
• Aspirational districts:
An action plan for the development of e-mandis in Aspirational districts has been drawn.
• Advantages to farmers:
Benefits from eNAM for a Seller/ Farmer are:
– Transparency in Trade through better price discovery
– Access to more markets & buyers
– Real-time information on prices and arrival in nearby mandis
– Quick payments
– will be able to build a healthy financial profile
– One nation, one market- this will enable interstate movement of farm produce, promoting competition, making farmers sovereign and attaining a better price.
eNAM facilitates better prices for a seller through transparent bidding, an increased number of buyers from different markets, hence greater negotiation power. Via assaying, price commensurate to the quality of product is obtained by the seller.
• Constraints:
– eNAM is yet to achieve pan-India connectivity with the platforms unable to reach states in the North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Kerala, Bihar and Goa.
– The complacency that has set in due to dysfunctional of markets will be difficult to surmount as the integration of dysfunctional markets with E-NAM is not going to be easy.
– In states without market regulation private unregulated wholesale markets have started to blossom. There is hardly any facility other than the roadside space made available for the transaction of produce.
– The States where parallel acts and markets are in coexistence is finding difficulty to integrate markets with E-NAM.
