Brochure - Agmarknet

(http://www.agmarknet.nic.in)Agricultural Marketing Information System(ACentral SeCtor Scheme of Directorate of Marketing & Inspection,Department of Agriculture &Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture)"A Sunshine Portal for farmers to bargain betteprices for their produce"-_.~.~."~--~~_._~"'.,Sponsoredl!\ .(I. I\/-\) V\;NV Iby:Directorate of Marketing & Inspection,Department of Agriculture & Cooperation,Ministry of AgricultureTel.: +91-11-23382416, 0129-2434351E-mail: reddywr@nic.in, Irai@nic.inA Step towards Globalisation of Indian Agriculture,Rural Empowerment and ProsperityIncluded as a Mission Mode Project under Nationale-Governance Action Plan (NeGAP)2005Markets - Driver for AgriculturalGrowthAgricultural Marketing in India isundergoing a significantmetamorphosisin view of globalisation and economicliberalization process. As marketoriented economic developmentproceeds, Indian farmers in rural areascontinue to experience great disparity inincome compared withother sectors. 70percentage of India's population live inrural areas and depend on agricultureand allied activities.A good agriculturalproduction and step-up prices - farmprices - would put more money in thehands of the people livingin the ruralareas.The McKinseyAnalysis on intermediaryeconomics (fruitsand vegetables) showsthat farm-gate price available to thefarmers is only 25% of the retail price inIndian condition, whereas the same is70% in case of Dutch and the USfarmers, where more efficientmarketingsystem is in place. Tobenefitthe farmingcommunitiesfromthe new global marketaccess opportunities, the internalagricultural marketing system of thecountry needs to be integrated andstrengthened.Marketing today depends on informationsystem, i.e. on adequate informationabout what peoplewant,at what price,and who can supply it. Various studiesreveal that farmers, on an average, get areasonably higher price by selling theirproduce in the regulated markets(Agricultural Produce MarketCommittees - APMCs) compared torural, village and unregulated wholesalemarkets.The locus of agricultural growth has beenshifted from production front to theprocessing and marketing front. Theinvestment in agricultural marketingsystem would, therefore, go a long way inmaking agricultural sector vibrant andenable it to face the competition ofinternational trade environment withoutadversely affecting the livelihoods ofthose who depend on farming.Information & CommunicationTechnology(ICTs)ICTs have opened considerableopportunities for the rural poor, both interms of direct employment and inimproving their linkages with the market.ICTs need to be extensively promoted inagricultural marketing to generate useful

AGMARKNET-,~ ~ frqIi 21/04/200"'"II~ t frqIi 21/04/20"'111databases and information packages forexpanding marketing opportunities,especially for online information ondemandand availability of differentproducts, product specifications withregard to price, quality, packsize,packaging material, quantity and thetime frame of supply.AGMARKNETAs a step towards globalisation ofagriculture, the Directorate of Marketing& Inspection (OMI) has embarked uponan ICT project: NICNET basedAgricultural Marketing InformationSystem Network (AGMARKNET)" inthe country, during the Ninth Plan, forlinking all importantAPMCS (AgriculturalProduce Market Committees), StateAgricultural marketing Boards /Directorates and OMI regional officeslocated throughout the country, foreffective information exchange onmarket prices NIC implements thisproject on a turn-key basis.This AGMARKNET project has alreadynetworked 735 Agricultural ProducesWholesale Markets (APWMs), 75 StateAgricultural Marketing Boards/Directorates and DMI Regional Officesduring 2000-02 and embarked uponadditional 2000 Marketsduring the TenthPlan Period (2002-2007).(Geographicalḻ\;,Spread of AGMARKNET)AGMARKNET appears to be filling ahuge gap by providing access toinformation at reasonable cost. TheAGMARKNET venture is a hearteninginitiative from the much criticized andslow-to-react government, especially onthe issue of easing the infrastructuralconstraints on agriculture (Times ofIndia, 2002) 1.AdvantagesThe advantages of AGMARKNETdatabase accrue to the farmers, as theyhave choices to sell their produce in thenearest market at remunerative prices.In addition to this, the Countrywitnesses:. Nationwidemarket informationforwholesale produce. Project supported by variousDepartments and State Boards ofAgricultural Marketing. Access mainly through the Internet. Information disseminationprogressively through locallanguages. Computer facilities atthe markets. Software for download - Daily marketprices. Information collected by nodes in thevarious markets. Weekly trends. Information on loans, policies andregulations. Bypass middlemen. Data Dissemination through NGOs,SHGs, KVKs, GISTNIC,Cooperatives etcITimes of India.. "Website to help farmers bargain better", dated 31st May 2002.

,AGMARKNE.,..IIIIIII"""""'" iI1IwlW;re"fO4f'O.'~U,",,::.;;.I:;.:~;,:; "-wuflre IW;re"fO4f2...This Digital Advantage Project isprogressively achieving the followings:-. "Reachingthe Unreached i.e.resource poor farmers",. "reduction of distress sale",. "righttoinformation",. "baseforproductionplanning",. "basefor marketingled agriculturalextension",. "increased competition",. "reduced marketing margins",. "vertical linkages in export cropmarkets that connect multinationaltraders to domestic traders"S l-GSMSMS-C)BSNL'M'Customer]./Ti~YAGMARKNET is an effort to bring ruralpeople intothe mainstream economy.Constraints/ChallengesThe challenge, if the full potential ofsuch ventures have utilized, is to takeITto rural India in a bigway.. connectivity in rural areas,. training the stakeholders. ensuring data updation in real timeframe(http://www.eapf.net/casestudies/in/agmarketasp ).Every efforts are undertaken toovercome these difficulties. AGMARKsoftware has become stabilized in allAGMARKNET nodes. This project hasfollowed the path of "Best Practices,Integrated Services and Global Solution"and uses a "National Delivery Model".International CooperationThere have been requests forAGMARKNET venture in variousdeveloping countries, ASEAN MemberCountries, SMRC Member Countries,Countries in Africa Region, etc., in viewof itsoperational efficiency in India.. AGMARKNET System for SMRCMember Countries - SAARCWorkshop Recommendation,organized at Dhaka (Bangladesh),22-23 October,2003. "PDA & Wireless network solutionfrom Korea to resolve last mile..1. R","~""

AGMARKNS.,..problem and AGMARKNET Systemevolvedby India to serve the farmingcommunity in APO MemberCountries" Recommendation of theAPO Seminar at Manila (Philippines)July 19-23, 2004. Possible Collaboration onAGMARKNET System for Sri Lanka. AGMARKNET System Study bySouth Africa under the bilateralcooperation programme and India-Brazil-SouthAfrica (IBS) Initiative. Asian Development Bank initiativeon "Agribusiness DevelopmentSupport Project (GOI/ADB TA 4407-IND)PotentialExpansionThis AGMARKNET venture benefits thefarming communities from the newglobal market access opportunities andalso strengthenes the internalagricultural marketing system in India.This project has the potential ofexpansion to about 7000 WholesaleMarkets located through out the countryand further to 30,000 Rural Markets in\India. This ICT Project is a 'farmercentric"project to put the progressivefarmers on "global free trade zone onInternet"AGMARKNET A Broad Framework tousherin Rural ProsperityAGMARKNET Programme plays acatalytic role for ushering in "market-ledagricultural extension" in India, highlyscalable, planned through bottom-upprocess, and implemented throughactive involvement and collaboration ofAgricultural Produce MarketCommittees (APMCs) in India.This "digital developmentin rural areas"of India facilitates rural prosperity, ruralempowerment, and a warehousing of"data for development"a step towardsdigital inclusion to foster rural enterprisein India.AGMAIWIET:Broad Frame Work) (rll!»Oir_-m I-at, Jute,OMI, AOMAKRNET Collon,_,~_"._t,OiIH 1IIt8rshIfto:l~I-.-,1_'-- ) Ted1notoo'l1Istion "'". c_~-."0