The government will soon start a pilot project to help farmers sell foodgrains through online platforms like National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) in two gram panchayats in Bidar district. The district administration achieved significant success with their experiment to sell sugar seized from factories at a price higher than the market price.
The gram panchayats in Mannalli in Bidar and Telgaon in Bhalki taluk will be registered as sellers on online platforms. They will encourage farmers to store their produce at village-level godowns, and sell them when they feel the price is right.
As a first step, the zilla panchayat will collect the details of types and quantities of crops grown in each hobli, or a group of gram panchayats. Officials will also study the market trends of the crop and its varieties, as market records have been maintained in the district.
Construction of godowns
The second step would involve the construction of godowns or storage units in each of the 186 gram panchayats. Work on building 145 godowns, each of a 60 tonne capacity, under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), is under progress. These will be built according to international parameters with pest and snake-resistant platforms and minimal ventilation to contain moisture variation and fungus attacks.
They will also be provided with a computer and an internet connection.
Modern silos to store grains scientifically will be built in each of the 30 hobli headquarters, using funds available under the Backward Regions Grant Fund. These will have a larger capacity to store grains, compared to the village-level godowns.
Two workshops on how to sell food grains on NCDEX will be held for panchayat Development Officers, and officers of the agriculture produce marketing committee and agriculture department and farmers in the select gram panchayats.
Some of the grains will also be procured locally, said deputy commissioner (DC) Anurag Tewari.
Red gram
Red gram has been sown on around 50,000 hectares in the district and the yield is expected to cross 77,000 tonnes this year. The district administration plans to buy all the red gram needed in Anganwadis and primary schools, locally. This will be processed in the Dal mills in the district and supplied through the mid-day meal scheme, according to the DC.
Around three lakh tonnes of green gram have been harvested in the district, but the farmers do not have a fair price. Around 25,000 tonnes of black gram and around 3 lakh tonnes of soya is expected to be grown this kharif season. If the online sales system starts functioning properly in one month, we can provide competitive prices to all these crops, the DC said.
Eliminating middlemen
At a meeting on Monday, deputy commissioner Anurag Tewari said the project would be extended to the whole district if it succeeds. Pawan Kumar Malpati, zilla panchayat chief executive officer, said the panchayats will create awareness among farmers about online sale of farm produce. This will empower them and help escape from the clutches of middlemen, he said.
The zilla panchayat will collect the details of the types and quantities of crops in each hobli
