Guntur chilli yard gets boost

GUNTUR: Asia’s biggest chilli market Guntur Chilli Yard has been selected as the model market yard and has started sales and purchase transactions under e NAM (National Agriculture Market)’s electronic trading portal on Friday. But the chilli traders who were against eNAM boycotted the trading on the very first day demanding the continuation of the old system.

The chilli growers are incurring huge losses and are unable to get a good price for their produce under the manual purchasing system. The eNAM will be giving a chance to purchasers and traders of other markets to purchase chillies online and payments would be paid online on the same day to the seller — the chilli growers. This has been part of the government’s “one country-one market” concept.

It has introduced the eNAM system in 23 markets in AP and 585 market yards across the country. Officials manning the system are claiming that farmers can sell their produce in the Guntur Chilli Yard and other markets after observing the prices online. Further, the licensed traders of Guntur Chilli Yard can purchase produces in other markets on the same license. Usually the traders pay the farmers after two weeks but under eNAM, payments to farmers would be made within 10 hours of the sale, which would be helpful to the farmers, mainly the chilli growers.

Chilli Traders Association president K Sambi Reddy said there is no chance to quality check in the online eNAM system and this is its biggest drawback. He said that quality would be different in the first, second and third cuttings so traders would not able to purchase chillies at uniform rates and immediate payment of cash was also not possible. He further said that majority chilli cultivators are farmers who have taken land on lease. They borrow from chilli traders so online purchase and payments would not be possible. Mr Reddy sought to change the norms to benefit both chilli growers and traders.

Meanwhile chilli growers are happy with the eNAM system because of the instant cash facility and also the opportunity to sell produce in other markets. Farmers Yeluri Anjaiah and S Punna Rao sold chillies online in the Guntur Chilli Yard on Friday and expressed satisfaction over the eNAM system. Chilli Yard secretary M Diwakar said there would be initial teething issues during the implementation of eNAM hence they are now convincing traders about the new system which will be beneficial to farmers and traders. Chilli Yard chairman M Subba Rao said eNAM was launched in the Chilli Yard on Friday for transparent transactions and appealed to the traders to adopt eNAM which would benefit them and help them spread their business to other markets.