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The government is set to form a common national market by integrating agricultural produce market committee (APMC) in India. It will soon appoint a consultant to draw a road map. Bids will, then, be invited for providing software and technology for the project.
The Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) has invited bids for appointing a consultant. The bids will be opened on Monday. Among those who have applied include the strategic advisory wings of banks that have a good base of agri-financing; subsidiaries of agri-marketing institutions; and management consultancy firms, sources said.
Consultants will draw a road map for agri-marketing reforms on the lines of directions received from the government. While the nodal agency will be SFAC, as in the case of vegetables in fruit mandis set up by it near New Delhi, state-level common agri-market is most likely to be developed on the same lines and the consultant will finalise the terms for software and technology providers unless the government decides to develop such market on a public-private partnership model where partners will also be selected.
Sources said that after appointing the consultant, bids for providing software might be invited in a month's time if all goes well.
This software will be made available to states, which will give a single licence and mandis in the state can be integrated for trading in line with the Karnataka model. In Karnataka, 51 APMCs have been integrated and a common trading platform is developed, which is helping farmers sell their produce at the best price. The project is a 50:50 joint venture between the Karnataka state and NCDEX E-market, a 100 per cent subsidiary of agri commodity derivative exchange National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.
The agriculture ministers of states have been invited for a meeting on July 10 in Hubli, Karnataka where the new technology and the intervention of IT, which integrated APMCs in the state will be demonstrated.
The move is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to form a national common market for agri-produce where a beginning will be made from a single state common APMC in line with Karnataka. In Karnataka, 51 APMCs have been integrated and a common trading platform has been developed which allows farmers to sell their produce to whoever gives them the best price. The project is a 50:50 joint venture between state of Karnataka and NCDEX e-market, a wholly-owned subsidiary of agri-commodity derivative exchange NCDEX.
