Nayagarh: Demand for eNAM mandis opened by the Regulated Market Committees (RMCs) of the Cooperative department is gaining traction among the farmers in Nayagarh district, a report said Friday. Notably, the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal that networks the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. The eNAM mandis facilitate sale of agricultural produce between farmers and traders without the involvement of middlemen and agents.
Recently, a farmer Pramod Kumar Behera in the district managed to sell 29.16 quintal pumpkins at Rs 12 per kg to a trader Khitish Mohapatra of Udala eNAM mandi through the eNAM mandi operated by Bahadajhola RMC at Khandapara road in Nayagarh town. Behera has earned Rs 36,182 from the sale of pumpkins to the Udala trader.
During the sale, Mandi secretary Sudam Charan Jena, nodal officer Sarat Kumar Palei, analysts Prabhas Kumar Sahu, and Binati Kumar Mohapatra of Udala mandi helped Behera seal the deal with Mohapatra. When contacted, Behera said he could have suffered losses as there is very little demand for pumpkins in Nayagarh district. The trader from Udala in Mayurbhanj district buying pumpkins at Rs 12 per kg is a good sign for the local farmers and the agriculture sector in the district, he said. “Farmers should stay aware so that they can reap the benefits like me.
Moreover, this will make them take more interest in agriculture,” he added. Sources said farmers cultivating brinjals in Nayagarh district could now sell their harvest to Mayurbhanj traders through eNAM mandis with the help of registered traders of various mandis. Brinjals harvested in the district were first sold to Mayurbhanj traders in February and March and the farmers are now planning to sell their additional harvest of brinjals to them. The registered traders in Nayagarh are also similarly getting benefited. They are now able to purchase vegetables produced in other districts through the eNAM mandis and sell them in Nayagarh.
Reports said that 209 types of agricultural produce can be sold through eNAM mandis. There are 66 mandis in the state including the one in Nayagarh while there are 1,361 eNAM mandis operating in the whole country. The eNAM mandi in this district has been functioning since March 28, 2018. Notably, eNAM mandis were started in the country from April 14, 2016. As many as 11,280 farmers and 22 traders have registered their names with the eNAM mandi at Khandapara main road. The registered farmers are from Nayagarh, Odagaon, Daspalla, Nuagaon, and Gania blocks in the district. Farmers from Nayagarh are selling their harvested vegetables daily to 22 registered traders through auctions without the involvement of any middleman or agent.
All the 22 traders have 22 godowns on Khandapara Road to store the vegetables purchased from the farmers. They are getting a good business every day, sources said. Mandi analyst Prabhas Kumar Sahu said that the eNAM mandi is a platform for the farmers and has proved to be helpful in preventing farmers’ losses if they get more harvest. Farmers will not be forced to go for distress sales in the local market and can get better deals for their harvest by selling it through the eNAM mandis. However, they have to be aware. They should contact in advance to sell their harvest through eNAM mandis so that the traders from other districts could be contacted online to sell off the excess stocks of farmers through auction.
Moreover, they could also buy the vegetables which are not cultivated or available in the district. The mandi helps the farmers and traders in the district to buy and sell their vegetables easily and at a reasonable price while the consumer also benefitted. Vegetable prices will go up if both the farmers and traders face loss, he added. Farmers Sudam Nayak of Ranpur and Miton Swain of Khanadapara said that the eNAM mandi in Nayagarah has been functioning since 2018 but many farmers are still not aware about its existence. They said that awareness programmes should be conducted to make the farmers and traders aware and the RMC should take the lead for this, they added.