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Second Green Revolution only through e-marketing: Agri Min

The national agriculture market approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed Cabinet last week will adopt best practices from the Karnataka model and learn from reform initiatives taken up in other states, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Thursday while addressing agriculture ministers from 23 states, who visited Karnataka to study the model adopted by the southern state.

The Karnataka government has created an electronic trading platform for agricultural produce linking 55 mandis, or regulated wholesale markets, with each other. They traded Rs 8,500 crore of commodities within a year. The e-platform, Rashtriya <g data-gr-id="19">e Market</g> Services Pvt Ltd, is a joint venture company between the Karnataka government and NCDEX Spot Exchange Ltd.

“Without reforming agricultural marketing practices we will not be able to deliver the true value of the farmer’s produce to him, thus depriving him of incentives to invest in technologies for higher productivity and production,” Singh said, adding that the second Green Revolution can only take off with a marketing revolution.

According to Singh, the national agriculture market will reverse this process of fragmentation of markets, by lowering intermediation costs, wastage and prices for the final consumer and it builds on the strength of the local mandi and allows it to offer its produce at the national level. It’s worth mentioning that last week, the cabinet approved the creation of a national agricultural market through an electronic platform. The centrally sponsored schemes will be set up through the Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund with a budget outlay of Rs 200 crore. The target is to bring 585 regulated wholesale markets across the country on <g data-gr-id="22">online</g> platform in the next three years. The centre will provide states with the software for e-marketing plus a grant of Rs 30 lakh for every wholesale market for related equipment and infrastructure.

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