In a move aimed at further digitalising the process of agri-marketing in the country, the Indian Government is setting up an e-commerce portal to help farmers and agri-entrepreneurs connect with consumers and sell their products directly. The portal, Kisankart.online, is being developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)’s Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) in Bengaluru. It is expected to be fully operational around August this year.

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Agri and value-added products produced by farmers, entrepreneurs mentored by the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and collectives such as the farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and self-help groups (SHGs) across the country will be made available to retail consumers through the Kisankart portal.

Bypassing middlemen

“The e-commerce platform will help enable farmers and agri-preneurs to expand their market reach, bypass the middlemen and reach the consumers directly. Bypassing the middlemen will help enhance farmers’ income,” said V Venkatasubramanian, Director, ATARI Zone 11, Bengaluru.

Besides eliminating the intermediaries, the creation of a digital agri-marketing system will help encourage local value addition at the farm level thereby reducing post-harvest losses, promote local and special products of various geographies while empowering the small and marginal farmers, Venkatasubramanian said.

The portal, developed by the technology team of ATARI has been launched on a pilot basis and integrated with KVKs such as Pathanamthitta, Gadag and Kolar, showcasing products of local agri- preneurs. Each KVK will have a separate marketplace on the portal showcasing the products and have a payment gateway.

A wide range of products produced by farmers and agri-preneurs such as vegetables, oils, spices, cereals, millets, orchids and value-added food products including those made from various fruits, vegetables and mushrooms among others will be made accessible to consumers through the e-commerce platform. Also, farmers can access inputs such as seeds, bio-formulations, micronutrient formulations, simple hand tool implements through the portal, Venkatasubramanian said.

Uniform brand

All products sold through the e-commerce platform will be under the uniform brand of Kisan Samriddhi, Venkatasubramanian said. Consumers will also have access to products coming out from various farmer centric schemes such as ODOP (One District One Product) and also the Geographical Indication (GI) tagged products through the portal.

There are some 731 KVKs spread across the country. Besides playing a key role in taking the technological interventions to the farmers to boost crop productivity, the KVKs are also engaged in encouraging local value addition through skill building among farmers and promoting agri-entrepreneurship to make farming sustainable and ensuring livelihood security of farm families. Products coming out of the KVKs are largely marketed through local sales counters at the premises.

The proposed e-commerce portal, which will open up a national market for such products, will be the government’s major market linkage initiative for the farmers after the rollout of e-NAM (electronic national agricultural market).

Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, DARE and DG ICAR, is optimistic in making the portal operational pan India benefitting millions of farmers and agri entrepreneurs. This will be a game changer in the process of digitalising the agri marketing.

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Venkatasubramanian said ATARI will be leveraging the expertise of Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC) and the ICAR-IASRI (Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute) to upscale and roll out out the e-marketplace. It will also be partnering with entities such as Delhivery and India Post for the logistics and delivery of these products sold online.

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