To help small and marginal farmers who cannot store their produce and wait for better prices, the Center plans to incentivize them through a scheme likely to be called PM-Kisan Bhai (Bhandaran Incentive). The Ministry of Agriculture’s 10-day feedback period ended on Friday after the concept draft was published, and the plan is likely to be implemented by the end of December. This is seen as an attempt to break the monopoly of traders in deciding crop prices. Kisan Bhai should enable farmers to store their crops for at least three months after harvest. This initiative gives farmers the autonomy to decide when to sell, unlike the current practice where most crops are sold during the harvest season, which usually lasts 2-3 months, and merchants and traders control supplies during the off-season. According to the concept paper, the marginal finance facility is now available to farmers, but its reach is limited due to high transfer costs for farmers and credit risk for bankers.
Launching the pilot
In the first phase, the scheme can be piloted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh and the estimated expenditure for three years including current taxes is ₹ 170 crore. said “To address these constraints, there seems to be a strong need to encourage farmers to store their produce in scientifically constructed warehouses and further reduce the interest rate of additional financing used against a guaranteed e-commerce warehouse receipt (eNWR). Immediate repayment incentive. (PRI) to trade such eNWR on e-Nationalis platform Agriculture Market (e-NAM) or through other registered e-commerce platforms compatible with e-NAM,” the Agriculture Ministry said.
