The government is planning to link all the 7,500 agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) along with the weekly and bi-weekly temporary markets (haats) across the country with e-NAM-the centralised online commodities trading platform -- by FY22, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh on Wednesday said.
Currently, only 585 APMCs are linked with e-NAM, he said but was quick to add that more than 400 more will be linked to this portal by 2020, taking the total to 1,000 APMCs which are online.
That apart, there are around 14,500 temporary mandis dealing in agri and non-agri goods across the country, which the farm ministry wants to interlink with the National Agriculture e-Market (e-NAM), he said.
"Already 585 mandis are linked to e-NAM and we are planning to link 22,000 mandis by FY22," he told an event organized by Crop Care Federation.
"This will be another step forward, in contributing to realise the goal of doubling farmers' income by 2022 as declared by the prime minister," Singh said.
The minister said the government is implementing several programmes to develop the farm sector and improve the economic condition of farmers.
"Issues such as reducing the cost of production, ensuring remunerative price for farmers, stopping wastage and ensuring alternative sources of income are being addressed in a mission mode," he said and called for a more concerted approach wherein the government, industry and farmers work together to overcome these challenges.
"The government has been working with the industry to help farmers confront the challenges facing them, however, there is a need to expedite support for them," he added.
Singh said, the budgetary outlay of the agriculture ministry has been gone up Rs 2,11,694 crore between 2014 and 2019.