Why the eNAM platform hasn’t taken off despite all the fanfare

The eNAM portal, launched by the Centre in April 2016, has 45.4 lakh farmers and 417 mandis across the country registered with it.

This number is disappointing, given that there are more than 13 crore farmers in India.

eNAM, which was envisioned as a unified national electronics agriculture market, faces multiple hurdles.

To implement it, each State has to first amend its APMC Act to make a provision for electronic auction as a mode of price discovery, allow a single licence across the State and have market fees levied at a single point.

Currently, only 13 States have enacted the necessary amendments.

Government data show that the six States with the most mandis under eNAM are Uttar Pradesh – 66; Madhya Pradesh – 58; Haryana: 54; Maharashtra – 54; Telangana – 44 and Gujarat – 40.

But the platform is not fully functional in any State. There are no scientific sorting/grading facilities or quality testing machines. Lack of internet connectivity is another issue impeding progress.

“In Maharashtra, the infrastructure is in the development stage, internet connectivity and computers are being provided slowly. And testing labs are yet to be set up both in Gujarat and Maharashtra,” said Nagarjuna Fertiliser & Chemicals’ eNAM co-ordinator for the two States.

The company had won the contract for design, development and maintenance of the eNAM application.

The Maha Farmers Producer Company, the federation of FPCs in Maharashtra, was unable to trade on the eNAM platform in Latur, one of the largest markets for pulses in the country.

“We wanted to see if we could trade on eNAM as the online system will ensure fair auctioning and there will be transparency in bidding, but after speaking to officials from the mandi and eNAM, we discovered that the system is not functioning in the mandi in Latur…,” said Yogesh Thorat, Managing Director of Maha FPC.

In Maharashtra, sources say that online bidding for the eNAM platform has been done only in five markets — Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Sangli, Akola, and Daund.

The picture is similar in Telangana, where about 44 markets have moved under eNAM. There is no grading/assaying infrastructure in most mandis, but computer systems and printers are in place.

This writer visited Nizamabad, a turmeric belt in Telangana, which recently won the award for best eNAM mandi from the government. But, even here, the market remains isolated, with traders from outside the APMC not being able to buy farmers’ produce from the mandi and buyers having to physically inspect quality of turmeric.

In UP, Haryana and Rajasthan, too, there are no fully functional online mandis. In Haryana, the procurement of assaying equipment has started, while in Rajasthan, it has been done for mustard alone, said a source with Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals.

In UP, old equipment is being used, which may not be able to grade the produce on all parameters under eNAM.

So, why is the progress under eNAM so slow? State agricultural departments have been finding it difficult to convince all stakeholders — farmers, traders and commission agents — to move to the online platform. While traders fear the taxman, farmers fear lower prices if the produce is assayed.

Lack of technical expertise at the State Agricultural Departments has also delayed the setting up of grading/assaying facilities, say officials from the mandis.

“It requires someone with technical expertise to assess the kind of equipment needed for the crops in the mandi, but currently, no one seems to have a clue,” said an official from the National Institute for Agriculture Marketing, Jaipur.