Many aquaculture farmers in the State are planning to update the details of their produce online and market their stocks through e-Santa, an electronic marketplace to export marine products.
e-Santa is a platform to connect aqua farmers and buyers across the country, to avoid middlemen. Producers and exporters who registered with Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) can trade online on the platform.
“Online marketing, e-Santa (shandy), will be very helpful for the farmers. The system will provide direct connectivity to farmers and exporters and the producer will get a good price, depending upon the quality of the produce,” said MPEDA Chairman K.S. Srinivas.
Many fish, shrimp and crab farmers were suffering losses due to lack of knowledge on marketing facilities and are getting deceived by middlemen. MPEDA and National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) officials were helping farmers make use of e-Santa, launched by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal recently, Mr. Srinivas said.
Farmer will enter the crop particulars, expected quantity, photographs of the pond and the shrimp, expected harvesting date, lab reports certifying the quality of the produce and other details on the portal. Buyers will then contact the farmers and negotiate with them directly, list the price details and make 25% online payment after the deal is struck, said NaCSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) K. Shanmuka Rao.
“The first e-Santa marketing was done by a farmer from Akiveedu in West Godavari district recently. We are planning to make more e-Santa transactions from Guntur, Krishna and West Godavari districts by the end of this month. Farmers registered with Aqua Farmers Welfare Society are eligible for trading through e-Santa,” the CEO said.
The producer will get the entire payment within three working days after the stocks are handed over to the exporter. An agreement will be signed by the farmer, buyer and the Aqua Farmers Welfare Society members, which will be monitored by MPEDA-NaCSA officials, Mr. Shanmuka Rao said.
“e-Santa will help farmers get good return for their produce and avoid middlemen. Small and medium farmers too can market their stocks through electronic marketing,” said a farmer Sudarshan of Koduru village in Krishna district.
