Vol. 12, Special Issue 9 (2023)

Author(s):
SM Joharapurkar, VA Deshmukh, and Dr. SM Sarap

Abstract:
The purpose of the study is to document the changes in commodity prices brought about by the eNAM scheme in the agricultural markets of the Vidarbha region. The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra has remained agriculturally backwards and has witnessed many farmer suicides due to crop failure, eratic rainfall pattern and lower market rate to their produce. Agricultural marketing is an important part of the agricultural economy, and it acts as a bridge between the agriculture and non-agriculture sector. eNAM has a virtual market which has an APMC market at the backend. The study was mainly based on the quantity and prices of soybean obtained from APMC Nagpur and APMC Akola between October 3 to October 8, 2022, via the official websites of eNAM and Agmarknet. According to the data analysis, there is a significant difference between the physical and eNAM trading modes for soybeans in APMC Nagpur regarding quantity (P = 0.01) and model price (P = 0.000). There is also a significant difference in the quantity (P = 0.0000) and maximum price (P = 0.03) of soybean traded in the APMC Akola. The results indicate that, despite technological advancements in the Nagpur region, physical trading is more prevalent than eNAM trading in the APMC Nagpur. The results also highlight the fact that the minimum price in both APMC Nagpur and APMC Akola is lower than the Minimum Support Price of Rs. 4300 per quintal. Additionally, there is a pattern of excessive trading through the physical mode, which indicates that farmers are still unsure about the payment system and require cash for payments. Therefore, it is essential to create a better digital ecosystem that enables farmers to add value to their produce while also making agricultural marketing and selling easier for them.