Executive Summary:
This document addresses initiatives to stabilize prices and increase farmer income through digital platforms, acknowledging the role of middlemen in profit distribution. It details government efforts like e-NAM, ONDC, and GeM to enhance digital market access for farmers. The document also highlights support for cold storage infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmer returns. It includes data up to June 30, 2025, regarding sanctioned cold storage projects.
Key Points / Main Content:
Digital Platforms for Farmers:
* National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) launched in 2016 to enable transparent sales to multiple buyers electronically.
* Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) onboarded onto e-NAM, ONDC, and GeM to enhance digital market access.
Farmer's Share of Consumer Rupee:
* RBI studies estimate farmers' share to be around 33% for tomatoes, 36% for onions, and 37% for potatoes.
* Farmers' share estimated at approximately 31% for bananas, 35% for grapes, and 43% for mangoes.
* Factors like marketing channels, costs, margins, and perishability affect price realization.
Infrastructure and Support:
* Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) supports cold storages in agri-export clusters, including at the farm gate level.
* AIF support aims to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmer returns.
* Entrepreneurs, cooperatives, PACS, and SHGs actively using AIF support for cold chain logistics and integrated units.
* 2454 cold storage projects sanctioned under AIF with a sanctioned amount of ₹8258 crore until June 30, 2025.
* MIDH provides financial assistance for horticulture activities, including pack houses, cold storages, and reefer transport.
* Government assistance via credit-linked back-ended subsidy: 35% of project cost in general areas and 50% in hilly/scheduled areas through State Horticulture Missions (SHMs).
Impact Analysis:
Farmers:
* Impact: Increased access to digital markets, potential for better price realization, reduced post-harvest losses through improved infrastructure.
* Action Required: Utilize digital platforms (e-NAM, ONDC, GeM) to sell produce, explore opportunities for establishing or utilizing cold storage facilities supported by AIF.
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs):
* Impact: Enhanced digital market access for members, opportunities for collaboration and growth.
* Action Required: Onboard onto digital platforms, facilitate members' access to AIF and MIDH benefits.
Entrepreneurs, Cooperatives, PACS, SHGs:
* Impact: Opportunities to establish cold chain logistics and integrated units with AIF support.
* Action Required: Avail AIF support to establish cold chain infrastructure, integrate grading, sorting, and packaging units.
Consumers:
* Impact: Access to produce with reduced post harvest losses, potentially stabilising prices
* Action required: No direct action required, benefit from the improved supply chain and price stability
Government (Agriculture and Farmers Welfare):
* Impact: Implementation and monitoring of initiatives to increase farmer income and stabilize prices.
* Action Required: Continue to promote and support digital platforms, AIF, and MIDH, monitor the impact of these initiatives, and adjust strategies as needed.
Key Entities Referenced
National Agriculture Market eNAM: A digital platform launched in 2016 by the Government of India to enable farmers to sell their produce transparently to a large number of buyers.
Farmers Producer Organisations FPO: Organizations of farmers that have been onboarded onto digital platforms like eNAM, ONDC, and GeM to enhance digital market access.
ONDC Open Network for Digital Commerce: A digital platform used by Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to enhance digital market access.
GeM Government e Marketplace: A digital platform used by Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to enhance digital market access.
Reserve Bank of India RBI: The central bank of India, which introduced working papers analyzing vegetable and fruit inflation and farmers' share in the consumer rupee.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund AIF: A fund that provides support to cold storages in agri-export clusters and at farm gate level to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers' returns.
MIDH: An initiative for holistic development of the horticulture sector, including reducing harvest and post-harvest losses, by providing financial assistance for various horticulture activities.
State Horticulture Missions SHMs: State-level missions that provide government assistance in the form of credit-linked back-ended subsidy for horticulture projects in hilly and scheduled areas.
O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 446
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 22ND JULY, 2025
INCREASING THE INCOME OF FARMERS THROUGH DIGITAL PLATFORMS
†446. SMT. SANJNA JATAV:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष और (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण मं(cid:287)ी
be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the initiatives proposed by the Government to stabilise prices and increase
the income of farmers using digital platforms;
(b) whether the farmers get only one-third of the final selling price of fruits and vegetables
while the middlemen grab most of the profit; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण रा(cid:207)य मं(cid:287)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)
(a) to (c): Government in 2016 launched a National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) to enable
the farmers to transparently sell their produce to large number of buyers accessing multiple
markets electronically.
Farmers Producer Organisations (FPO) have been on boarded onto digital platforms
such as e-NAM, ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce), and GeM (Government e-
Marketplace) to enhance digital market access.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced RBI working Paper series to present
research in progress of the staff members and are disseminated elicit comments and further
debate. Working Paper titled “Vegetables Inflation in India: A Study of Tomato, Onion and
Potato (TOP)” estimates farmers’ share in the consumer rupee to be about 33% for tomatoes,
36% for onions and 37% for potatoes. In another RBI’s Working Paper “Price Dynamics and
Value Chain of Fruits in India”, the farmers’ share in the consumer rupee is estimated at
around 31 % for bananas, 35% for grapes and 43 % for mangoes in the domestic value chain.
The factors such as number of marketing channels, higher marketing cost and margins, and
high perishability affects the price realisation by the farmers.Together with enhancing production and productivity, Government’s priority has been
to take various measures to improve marketing of agricultural produce and reduce post-
harvest losses to ensure remunerative prices for farmers’ produce.
Under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), support is extended to cold storages
in agri-export clusters, at farm gate level, for small and marginal farmers as well as big
businesses, APMCs/mandis to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers' returns.
Entrepreneurs, cooperatives, PACS, and SHGs are actively availing AIF support for
establishing cold chain logistics, often integrated with grading, sorting, and packaging units.
Till 30.06.2025, 2454 cold storage projects have been sanctioned under AIF with sanctioned
amount of ₹8258 crore.
Besides, under the MIDH, for holistic development of horticulture sector, including
reducing of harvest and post-harvest losses, financial assistance is provided for various
horticulture activities. These include setting up of Pack Houses, Integrated Pack House, cold
storages, Reefer Transport, Ripening Chamber etc. The component is demand/entrepreneur
driven for which Government assistance in the form of credit linked back ended subsidy is
available at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and at the rate of 50% of the
project cost in hilly and scheduled areas through respective State Horticulture Mission(s)
(SHMs).
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