The electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), a pan-India electronic portal launched by the Centre, will start functioning in Kunduli weekly market (haat) in Odisha's Koraput.
The portal connects existing agricultural produce marketing committees to create an unified market for agricultural commodities, officials said adding, Koraput was one of the ten districts being included under e-NAM.
In the first phase ginger and potato produced in the district have been included under e-NAM and traders can buy those through online bidding, they said.
Till date, 1,700 farmers of the district grow ginger and potato and 51 traders have registered with e-NAM. The highest bidder would be allowed to purchase the commodity if the farmer agrees to the price, said Susant Kumar Padhi, Secretary of Regional Market Committee, Koraput.
"It is expected that through online bidding of products, the monopoly of local traders will be checked in determining the price of a product and farmers will get the highest price for their products," Padhi said.
Anyone from across the country can obtain a license to participate in the online bidding process by paying a fee of Rs 1,100 to the respective market committee, he said.
According to official data, around 20 tonnes of ginger and eight tonnes of potato are grown by farmers in the district annually.
Farmers have expressed optimism that through the online bidding system, they would financially benefit and would not be forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices.
"Last year, we sold ginger at Rs 8 a kg to local traders, but in bordering Andhra Pradesh it was sold at Rs 35 to Rs 40 a kg. Through online bidding we are hopeful to get the maximum profit for our products," Chandra Chepadi, a ginger grower of Bodotema village under Pottangi block, who as registered with e-NAM, said.
Apart from Koraput, the e-NAM project would be operational at Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Balangir, Sambalpur, Nabrangapur, Gajapati, Rayagada and Phulbani districts.
"We are planning to include cashew in the next phase," Padhi added.
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