National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers: Hon'ble Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Tomar inaugurated the State Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers Meeting along with Minister of State, Kailash Choudhary, Shobha Karandlaje, and many other eminent dignitaries in Bengaluru.

Key Highlights:

• This conference is being organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare in Bengaluru on July 14 and July 15, 2022.
• The two-day conference will deliberate on the adoption of modern as well as sustainable farming practices and mechanisms for increasing production & productivity in India.
• It is being organized to commemorate 75 years of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav which is a step forward towards building a self-reliant India.

Key Facts

• The main focus of this conference will be on farmers' accessibility digitally to multiple numbers of markets, buyers, and service providers.
• It will also focus on bringing transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery mechanisms for better price realization of farm produce to the farmers.
• A session on the “best practices in agriculture & allied sector” that has been adopted by states across India will be held.
• This session will be integrated with technical sessions.
• During the conference, technical sessions would be held under nine thematic areas namely:

• Digital Agriculture
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
• National Food Security Mission
• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund
• New Technology by ICAR.
• Natural Farming
• FPO
• e-NAM

Launch of e-NAM platform of platforms:

• During the conference, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar will launch the e-NAM Platform of platforms (PoPs).
• This platform will be used for promoting trade & marketing of agricultural produce, in order to get better prices of agriculture commodities to farmers.

Significance of the e-NAM PoPs:

• The government, through e-NAM PoPs will facilitate the participation of all the stakeholders to take the revolution in Agri-Produce Marketing to the next level. 
• This in turn,  will make it easier for Indian farmers to sell their goods in other states.
• It will increase farmers’ accessibility digitally to various numbers of markets, service providers and buyers. 
• It will also bring transparency in trade transactions. 
• It will also help in creating an efficient “One Nation One Market” ecosystem.

About National Agriculture Market (eNAM):

• National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is an online trading platform, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India (GoI) for agricultural commodities in India.
• It was founded on 14 April 2016.
• The platform facilitates the farmers, traders and buyers an option in online trading in commodities.
• It also helps them in getting a better price and provides facilities for smooth marketing of produce.
• The Portal is managed by Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) with the technology provider, NFCL’s iKisan division.