NCML helps farmers sell crops through its Surakshit Mandi program

NCML initiated the program Surakshit Mandi to help farmers in selling their crops through its warehouses, which provides a direct platform to farmers to get the right price.

Unupom Kausik, President of NCML, in an interaction with MyBigPlunge shares how the organization reached out to the farmers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and much more:

How did the NCML reach out to the farmers amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

With the onset of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, market access became a key challenge for farmers. NCML initiated the program Surakshit Mandi to help farmers in selling their crops through its warehouses, which provides a direct platform to farmers to get the right price, timely and affordable credit. It has also ensured a safe and easy transaction. Moreover, it uses the latest RBI approved escrow accounts, which provides an e-wallets payment gateway.

When did the NCML introduce “Surakshit Mandi” program?

We introduced the concept of Surakshit Mandi at the time when everything was under lockdown, and the farmer needed to sell his stock. Most of the farmers only brought crops that were not under government procurement. We ensured that when a farmer brings their produce, we suitably assay, grade and list it for e-auction on the electronic platform – mktyard.com. Arrangements were made to issue e-tokens in advance and all COVID-19 related protocols are observed. Farmers’ acceptance was taken on the basis of the bids received online, and the money was deposited into their account on the very same day.

Have the e-auctions been successful? Please elaborate.

NCML has successfully conducted over 8,000 e-Auctions worth more than Rs 1,000 crores for various government organizations such as Marketing Federations, civil supply corporations, and seed corporations across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat. Further, e-auctions have also been conducted for more than 10 national banks and signed agreements with 8 of them as the first-choice auction service provider. The company has also conducted auctions for MMTC and NAFED (onions) as well.

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How does MKTyard benefit farmers?

Mktyard.com is owned and operated by NMPL (NCML MktYard Private Limited), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCML. It is India’s premier e-auction and order matching platform. Mktyard offers safe, secure and efficient ways for customers to buy, sell, auction and procure agri and non-agri commodities across the country, via a digital platform. Basically, it has a pan-India presence with over 5,000 traders and processors, 100 FPO’s trading across all commodities. Mktyard has pioneered products like pledge sale and order matching. It safeguards the interest of both buyers and sellers, and ensures payment of sellers and the quality and quantity of buyers. The platform also facilitates farmers, FPOs and village-level aggregators to directly connect with processors and exporters, thus eliminating multiple mediators in the agri value chain.