Centre asks states to set up unified agriculture market

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh today urged states to think over setting up unified agriculture markets at state level, saying it will help the central government as well in successfully implementing the 'National Unified Agriculture Market'.

The Agriculture Minister underlined the importance of e-marketing and infrastructure development of e-mandis while chairing a meeting of the consultative committee of Parliamentarians of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Stating that e-marketing will help bring one-agriculture market concept in the country, the Minister said: "Think about the unified agriculture market for the states so that farmers can sell their agriculture produce at single place. This will also enable the concept of National Unified Agriculture Market to be successful."

Farmers would need to be educated about this concept as e-mandis would require a software where farmers could enter the data related to agriculture produce, he said in a statement.

Highlighting benefits of e-mandis, the Minister said that electronic mandis will promote direct linkage between the farmer and the consumer without the need for intermediaries and enable effective consumer information dissemination.

One-mandi license fee for farmers in the entire state for e-mandi will provide flexibility for farmers to sell their agriculture produce in one unified mandi in the entire state, he added.

Present on the occasion were Ministers of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya and Parliamentarians especially Manshankar Ninama, Rodmal Nagar, Shobha Karandlaje, Sumedhanand Saraswati, Kamla Devi Patle and Shankarbhai N Vegad.