APMC Secretary Nanjundaswamy says digital payment is convenient for markets like Mysuru since the total quantity of produce during peak season does not cross 1,000 bags a day
The APMC in Mysuru has geared up to introduce digital payments for farmers who sell their produce to merchants in a bid to encourage sellers and buyers to adopt cashless transactions.After Tiptur and Gadag, APMC in Mysuru is perhaps the third market in Karnataka that is planning to take the online route for making payments to farmers who sell their produce to the registered merchants operating in the market yard at Bandipalya.One of the reforms proposed was digital payment under the Rashtriya E-Market Service Private Limited (REMS), under which farmers and merchants have to get themselves registered with their bank details. Once the transaction is done, the respective amount is transferred from the merchants’ account to the farmers’ account. “There won’t be any handling of cash once the new system comes into effect,” said APMC Secretary Nanjundaswamy. He told The Hindu that digital payment was proposed earlier, but could not be implemented due to technical issues. Now, with technological advancements and thrust on cashless transactions, digital payment to farmers is being proposed with greater resolve, he said.“Once the new season starts in May this year when farmers bring their produce in large quantities to the market after harvest, the new system of cashless transactions may will be introduced. We will do a trial run before the system is put in place,” he said.Mr. Nanjundaswamy said digital payment is convenient for markets like Mysuru since the total quantity of produce during peak season will not cross 1,000 bags a day.COLD STORAGEThe Mysuru APMC has sent a proposal to the government seeking its nod to establish a cold storage on a 2-acre plot at Bandipalya market for the benefit of farmers who can store their produce in the hope of better returns.“The government has advised us not to encourage private players for establishing the cold storage based on previous experience when a private agency, after bagging the contract, did not execute the work. Instead, it has suggested that we set up the facility under the PPP model,” he said.Mr. Nanjundaswamy said, “People familiar with developing such projects are in touch with us. They are being consulted on roping in private players for making the facility a reality at the earliest.”Mysuru has four cold storages under private ownership in the industrial area close to Nanjangud. “As there is a good market in Kerala for grains, farmers from north Karnataka store their produce in these facilities and market them whenever they get good returns in the neighbouring markets as well as neighboring States, like Kerala,” he said.The APMC secretary said the cold storage facility will be of great use to farmers of the region since Mysuru has been the key supplier of essentials, like food grains and vegetables, to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.