Karnataka's online marketing system for farmers a big hit

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s online marketing for farmers has become quite a hit, with the  Centre recommending it to other states and many like Andhra Pradesh coming forward to adopt it now.

The state’s Unified Market Platform (UMP), which has farmers going online to sell their produce, has won accolades for its transparency and simplification of licensing procedures. “The success of this new online marketing system has created ripples and will revolutionise the agricultural sector in the country,  greatly benefiting poor farmers and other stakeholders in agricultural markets,” says Mr R. Manoj, additional secretary, cooperation department and managing director of the Rashtriya e-Marketing Service (ReMS) ,  who has succeeded in integrating 103 of  the 157 Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) through UMP in the state, helping farmers  get a higher price for  their produce. He hopes to have all APMCs doing online marketing in a year. Thanks to the new system farmers are even being paid online after selling their produce  in APMC yards, he explains. Not only do the 1.4 million farmers, who  have registered for it,  receive confirmation of the transaction through SMSes, but their bank accounts too have been integrated for online transfer of money.  “We have helped Andhra Pradesh adopt the UMP model and today 10 of  its major markets are using it to transact business. Other states like Orissa, Rajasthan, TN, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh are also interested in replicating the Karnataka model,” the officer reveals

Promoting the idea of  “My produce and my price,”   ReMS has been training  farmers through elected members of APMCs in using the online marketing system for their produce. The government intends to train at least 200 farmers in each village to go online.