Platform of Platforms (POP)

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched the Platform of Platforms (PoP) under the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) on the side-lines of the State Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers' Conference in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

What do we need to know about Platform of Platforms (PoP)?

  • About:
    • e-NAM integrates the platform of Service Providers as "Platform of Platforms" which includes:
      • Composite Service Providers (Service Providers who provide holistic services for trading of agricultural produce including quality analysis, trading, payment systems and logistics)
      • Logistics Service Provider, Quality Assurance Service Provider, Cleaning, Grading, Sorting & Packaging Service Provider, Warehousing Facility Service Provider, Agricultural Input Service Provider, Technology Enabled Finance & Insurance Service Provider
      • Information Dissemination Portal (Advisory Services, crop forecasting, weather updates, capacity building for farmers etc.)
      • Other platforms (e-commerce, international agri-business platforms, barter, private market platforms etc.).

What are the Benefits of PoP?

  • Digital Benefits:
    • This will increase farmers' digital access to multiple markets, buyers and service providers and bring transparency in business transactions with the aim of improving price search mechanism and quality commensurate price realisation.
    • The PoP will create a digital ecosystem, which will benefit from the expertise of different platforms in different segments of the agricultural value chain.
  • Ease of Operation:
    • 41 service providers from different platforms are covered under POP facilitating various value chain services like trading, quality checks, warehousing, fintech, market information, transportation etc.
      • It enables farmers, FPOs, traders and other stakeholders to access a wide variety of goods and services across the agricultural value chain through a single window, thereby giving more options to the stakeholders.
    • Farmers will be facilitated to sell the produce outside their state borders.
    • The inclusion of various service providers not only adds to the value of the e-NAM platform, but also gives the users of the platform options to avail services from different service providers.
    • Moreover, while selecting a good quality Goods/Service Provider, it saves the time and labour of the stakeholders.

What is e-NAM Portal?

  • National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
  • Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
    • Vision:
      • To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
    • Mission:
      • Integration of APMCs across the country through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agriculture commodities, providing better price discovery through transparent auction process based on quality of produce along with timely online payment.

What are the other Initiatives for Agriculture?

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. What is/are the advantage/advantages of implementing the ‘National Agriculture Market’ scheme? (2017)

  1. It is a pan-India electronic trading portal for agricultural commodities.
  2. It provides the farmers access to nationwide market, with prices commensurate with the quality of their produce.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

  • National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • The NAM portal provides a single window service for all APMC related information and services. This includes commodity arrivals and prices, buy and sell trade offers, provision to respond to trade offers, among other services.
  • Agriculture marketing is administered by the States as per their agri-marketing regulations, under which, the State is divided into several market areas, each of which is administered by a separate APMC which imposes its own marketing regulation (including fees).
  • This fragmentation of markets, even within the State, hinders the free flow of agri commodities from one market area to another and multiple handling of agriproduce and multiple levels of mandi charges ends up escalating the prices for the consumers without commensurate benefit to the farmer.
  • NAM addresses these challenges by creating a unified market through online trading platform, both, at State and National level and promotes uniformity, streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets; removes information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promotes real time price discovery, based on actual demand and supply; promotes transparency in auction process, and access to a nationwide market for the farmer, with prices commensurate with quality of his produce and online payment and availability of better quality produce and at more reasonable prices to the consumer. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Source: PIB