Agriculture Minister Handed Over the Award to the Chief Minister | 29 Mar 2023

Why in News?

On March 28, 2023, Madhya Pradesh's Farmers-Welfare and Agriculture Development Minister Kamal Patel handed over the award received by Madhya Pradesh for the Farm Gate App in Delhi to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Key points

• It is noteworthy that Madhya Pradesh has been awarded the 20th CSI-SIG e-Governance Award-2022 by the Computer Society of India for the Form Gate app in the project category of state governments.
• This app is an Android based application. It can be downloaded by the farmer on his Android mobile for free. With this, the farmer has been able to sell his produce from his house, barn, warehouse as per his wish.
• Farmers have got the freedom to bring their produce to the market and sell it at their own price as well as sitting at home. Madhya Pradesh is the only state in the country to do so. The said system has been highly appreciated by the Government of India.
• The M.P Farm Gate App, operated in the Agricultural Produce Market Committees of Madhya Pradesh, was started in 8 mandis of the state, Bhopal, Harda, Indore, Dewas, Guna, Sagar, Jabalpur and Satna, as a pilot from August 1, 2022, through an Android app. Also, Ujjain Mandi has been included in the pilot scheme from September 27, 2022. MP. Farm Gate App is being operated in all the 259 Agricultural Produce Market Committees of Madhya Pradesh.
• 64 lakh quintals of various agricultural produce have been sold by 12981 farmers using the MP Farm Gate app. Direct purchase from farmers from farm gate was earlier done in April 2021 through Souda-Patrak portal. Gradually this app is being used by most of the farmers. So far, up to 16 percent arrivals have been made in the market premises by using this app.