Agriculture marketing refers to the services involved in moving agricultural products from the farm to consumer. It involves various interconnected processes, including production planning, planting and grading, harvesting, checking and packaging, shipping, storage, agri food processing & dissemination of market information.

Main Constraints of Agricultural Marketing in India

• Fragmentation of Markets: Agriculture marketing is a state subject and every state has its own Agriculture Pricing Market Committees Acts (APMCs) which has led to fragmentation of markets.
• Fragmented supply chain:  fragmented with multiple intermediaries between farmers and consumers. 
• Lack of storage and processing facilities which limits the ability of farmers to add value to their products and access higher-value markets.
• Limited market access and market information due to a lack of transportation infrastructure, as well as regulatory barriers and market distortions.
• Price volatility: With fluctuations driven by factors such as weather conditions, government policies, and market speculation. 
• Limited access to credit: Due to a lack of penetration of financial institutions in rural areas, as well as regulatory barriers and high interest rates.

Government Initiatives to Promote Agricultural Marketing in India

E- NAM  

• National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) 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 Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.

Applications

Constraints in Implementing e-NAM in Agricultural Marketing in India 

• To implement e-NAM many the states have to make amendments in their APMCs acts. As of Feb 2022, Currently, 1,000 markets located in 21 states and three union territories (UTs) are integrated into the e-NAM network.
• A significantly lower share of trade in APMCs takes place on e-NAM. It is the traders themselves who trade in both online and offline platforms.
• Lack of knowledge and awareness among farmers: Online trading benefits farmers without digital media knowledge. e-NAM benefits commission agents, not farmers, due to such restrictions.
• Operational Issues: In some states, the e-NAM portal reported inconsistent arrival and traded quantity, commodity prices (minimum, maximum, and moral values), etc. Thus, e-NAM mandis are computerised but not fully implemented.

Way Forward to Strengthen Agricultural Marketing in India via e-NAM

• Digital interventions and training services are needed to increase farmers’ integration into e-NAM-enabled markets. 
• Efforts should be taken reduce the role of traders and commission agents (CAs), who take away a major chunk of the values from the farmers and the mandis.
• The e-NAM should be fully integrated with Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) to provide real-time information.
• Efforts should be made to develop a mobile app in the vernacular language which can be used by the farmer-sellers.
• All information related to mandi timing, online trading timings- opening and closing (commodity-wise, if it is different) should be standardized and well publicized.

With all these measures, e-NAM would be fully able to achieve the vision of “One Nation One Market” for Indian farmers. e-NAM has the potential to be their true “inam (reward)”