The e-common mandi portal will be launched at the head of the 10-day Village Self Governance Campaign. (Representational Image)
Stung by its loss in the assembly polls in Bihar and looking ahead at the elections in Uttar Pradesh, the NDA government is focusing on its pro farmer agenda with a 10-day nationwide campaign later this month.
On April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the pilot project for "e-common-mandi" -- a new scheme that promises to make procurement smoother and provide competitive remuneration especially for small and marginal farmers.
With the BJP facing criticism for poor returns for farmers for their produce and rising instance of farm suicides due to losses, the drive is part of the party's efforts to pursue the agrarian and Dalit vote.
The e-common mandi portal will be launched at the head of the 10-day Village Self Governance Campaign -- Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan" GUSBUA -- on April 14, the 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.
The portal will make way for one price for each agricultural produce at the town-district-taluka-tehsil level. Currently, prices dip as one moves away from procurement centres. It will create a link between wholesalers, retailers or buyers and farmers, under which wholesalers can pick the produce from where the farmers have stocked it. It will also provide logistical help, so farmers can have cheap transportation to deliver their produce.
An official in the Prime Minister's Office said: "For decades, only big farmers could bring their agricultural produce to mandis. Marginal farmers and those living far from the procurement centres were exploited by middlemen. This scheme may change that." In India, 60% farmers are identified as marginal.
In Phase 1, PM Modi will launch 20 e-common-Mandis from Bhopal. "Depending on the response and the experience, the scheme will be expanded across the country," said a senior official in agriculture ministry.
The Centre hopes the scheme - to be run by the Agriculture ministry -- will make farming profitable and not just viable.
The GUSBA programme will end on April 24, Panchayati Raj Day -- the brainchild of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi. On the last day, PM Modi will address the gram sabhas from Jamshedpur. The address will be beamed to every village in the country.