Farmers’ Markets are Going Digital: How Online Sales are Saving Indian Farmers

Farmers' markets are going digital: how online sales are saving Indian farmers

In India, the agricultural landscape is changing rapidly. In India, the Internet of Things (IoT) is exploding, and it is having a significant impact not just in the healthcare, automotive, technology, retail, and travel industries, but also in agriculture.

Despite advances in agricultural technology, the majority of Indian farmers continue to sell their crops to village-level traders and produce aggregators. Farmers used to dump their produce to local traders, or middlemen, who set the price. This practice is still used by the majority of farmers in India today. These dealers would then increase the price and offer it to customers or other retail outlets.

Farmers are always on the losing end of such arrangements. Most farmers do not sell their produce at mandi’s, government organizations, or cooperatives, where they could earn a better price.

The next difficulty would be to figure out how to sell to mandis that would command better prices for the produce. Where does a farmer go, and how does he know if one mandi is better than the other?

“The crops were rotting because the local wholesalers were providing such low prices.” “That’s when I came across Kisan Sabha and I advertise my products online,” Chauhan adds.

Balram Chauhan, a farmer in Haryana, has six acres of land and hopes to purchase another. Chauhan is encouraged by the additional 20% profit he made by selling his products online.

“We have successfully sold wheat and soybean through Kisan Sabha’s online portal.” We used to sell our distressed produce at the time of harvesting to pay lenders on the spot. “By selling online this year, we were able to increase our income by 20%, and also the transportation booking hurdles were also solved as they have the facility of booking transport through their portal,” Chauhan remarked.

It’s the first time his crops have been sold outside of Haryana, which is a significant accomplishment for a farmer. Several states have loosened laws, allowing farmers to sell directly to customers throughout the country.

Farmers can use Kisan Sabha, an internet portal, to compare mandi tariffs in real time. Farmers might also look for nearby mandis to sell their produce. Farmers can choose the finest mandi based on distance and cost to sell their harvest from a list of local mandis that display the distance in kilometers and pricing for each crop. The price for selling at the Mandi’s will be 15-20% higher than the price for selling to intermediaries and village-level traders.

KisanSabha not only assists farmers in getting a higher price for their crops but also works with them to improve the quality and quantity of their production. Farmers may see results in such a short time with KisanSabha, and they can harvest rewards within the same season by using this platform. Crop management aids farmers in predicting the likelihood of disease infestation in their crops.

Farmers now make at least 15-20% more money through online sales than previously. Aside from that, the absence of a middleman and commissioning agency has enabled them to receive immediate payment for their goods.