e-Kisan Mandi to connect farmers with buyers directly

Bulk buyers of perishable commodities, such as fruits and vegetables, in New Delhi can sidestep middlemen while procuring fresh produce by the end of this month through the ‘e-Kisan Mandi’ portal, an exchange platform to be operated by the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).

The portal will be formally launched on July 27 and is part of an overall project to establish a ‘direct purchase system’ linking farmers with buyers.

The agency – under the Agriculture Ministry – was looking to construct an exemplary mandi with grading and cold storage facilities at a 1.6 acre plot in Alipur, close to the Haryana border. It was launched by the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh last September, but problems cropped up with regard to land titles that prevented land transfer to the SFAC.

“The physical facility is yet to be constructed. There have been issues with land titles due to which building permissions have been held back. The e-Kisan Mandi platform will obviate, in some ways, the necessity of having that facility,” said Pravesh Sharma, Managing Director, SFAC.

The e-platform will allow large buyers — including exporters, caterers, hotels, and offline and online retail chains such as Big Bazaar, More, Grofers, etc — to procure vegetables and fruits directly from farmer producer organisations (FPOs) operating in specialised growing hubs like Nashik (onions) and western Uttar Pradesh (potatoes) through ‘local franchisees’.

“We have created this facility for farmers and FPOs to bring the perishables to a local franchisee where the produce will be quality graded and sorted before being connected to an electronic platform. A large buyer in Delhi can simply go online to see the quality and grade of the produce on offer and participate in the auction,” said Pravesh Sharma, Managing Director, SFAC.

More than 200 buyers and sellers have already registered with SFAC to use the ‘e-Kisan Mandi’ portal.

The software, which was developed by commodities bourse NCDEX, was funded by the Centre.

Delhi was picked for the launch since it was one of seven States/Union Territories that had delisted fruits and vegetables from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, allowing farmers to sell their produce to wholesale markets beyond designated mandis.

The platform is likely to be extended to States such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh soon. “The franchisee can be a private player, an entrepreneur or a mandi trader, registered with us. They require only a terminal and access to the platform through the software. Farmers can go to them directly with their produce and it’s the franchisees’ job to verify the quality and quantity before sourcing them for auctions,” Sharma said.

Though no official target has been set, the agency is aiming to transact 1,000 tonnes per day and it estimates that 2,500 tonnes per day would make it financially viable.

Potato, onion, tomato, mango and banana, are the fruits and vegetables that will be traded to begin with.

“These commodities account for 40 per cent of the total sales of fresh produce in Delhi. We have developed protocols for these and it can be extended to other perishables over time. Other seasonal fruits and vegetables, specialised produce like mushroom, and organic goods can be sold through the platform as well,” he added.

Currently, there are about 800 registered FPOs in India, of which 450 have been promoted by the SFAC. It is targeting the promotion of another 350 FPOs by the end of this year.

Around 8,000-10,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables are supplied in New Delhi each day.