For facilitating the marketing of agriculture commodities, the Uttar Pradesh government has drawn plans for connecting the agriculture commodity startups of the state with the Central government-promoted e-commerce platforms like ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) and e-NAM (National Agriculture Market).
The state government has directed the Agriculture department to connect farmer producer organisations (FPOs) with ONDC and e-NAM through a dedicated farmer producer cell, which may be constituted soon. It aims to augment rural incomes and generate employment through this move.
However, the startups are also free to get onboard any e-commerce or digital marketing platform. “The idea is to develop UP as the veritable food basket of India and ensure benefits of government schemes reach farmers,” a state government official said.
The state intends to facilitate a transparent agriculture market, input licencing processes (fertilisers, seeds, pesticides), mandi licenses, GST licences, FSSAI licences, and on boarding with the ONDC and e-NAM portals for market linkage, he said.
ONDC is a private non-profit company established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to develop open e-commerce and promote local commerce.
National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is a pan-India trading portal which networks agricultural produce market committee (APMC) mandis to create a unified national market.
About 3,240 FPOs operate in UP under the Atmanirbhar Krishak Samanvit Vikas Yojana in UP, which is among the leading farm producers but has lower per hectare yield. Food processing facilities here are also sub-optimal.
This translates to lower farm incomes, which the Yogi government is looking to address by promoting efficient farming and augmenting exports.
Recently, UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi flagged off a 4-tonne consignment of the famous Malihabadi Dussehri mango for the USA. In 2023, Dussehri mango was exported to Russia. More consignments are expected to be exported in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the UP government has partnered with industry stakeholders to promote food processing and introduce artificial intelligence (AI) in farming. The state also plans to host a global farmers’ summit, ‘Krishi Bharat’, in November 2024 in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Farmers’ delegations from countries like the US, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Poland, France, Spain, Indonesia, and Kenya are expected to participate in the four-day event in Lucknow. In UP, paddy and rice accounts for 33 per cent of cropped area, followed by wheat, pulses, and oilseeds at 33 per cent.
