In an attempt to help farmers increase their agricultural productivity and bring them on the same platform as consumers and SME-based agri suppliers and exporters, the Union minister for food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai has launched an e-portal titled eFresh India.

Even while exhorting portal operators to make this facility available to the numerous Panchayats in the country, Mr Sahai said the portal will promote global connectivity and make supplier and production-related information accessible to farmers in local languages.

This development holds immense significance for agri-based SMEs in the country because the portal will also give them access to information about other exporters, besides opening up a direct interface with consumers.

“The portal will be very useful if the government manages to guide the farmers about cultivation, production and harvesting best-practices. Higher production from the farmers’ end will consequently increase our volume of supply to consumers,” said Munish Bansal, owner of Bansal Overseas, a small-sized basmati rice exporter in Karnal, Haryana.

Significantly, the minister has also said that almost Rs 30,000 crore worth of agricultural produce gets wasted annually because of lack of awareness among farmers about suppliers they could reach out to.

Sreemita Bhattacharya