Kisan Rath app launched to facilitate farmers & traders for transportation

Speaking on the occasion Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar said that agricultural activities have to go on amidst the lockdown.

The Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched a farmer-friendly mobile application in Krishi Bhavan today developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to facilitate farmers & traders in searching transport vehicles for Primary and Secondary transportation for movement of Agriculture & Horticulture produce. Primary transportation would include movement from Farm to Mandis, FPO Collection Centre and Warehouses, etc. Secondary Transportation would include movement from Mandis to Intra-state & Inter-state mandis, Processing units, Railway station, Warehouses, and Wholesalers, etc.

Speaking on the occasion Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar said that agricultural activities have to go on amidst the lockdown. He said concessions have been given to the Agriculture sector on directions of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. While harvesting and sowing are going on, transportation will become easier with the Kisan Rath app as it will help farmers and traders for transporting produce from farm gate to mandi and mandi to mandi all over the country. At this juncture while the country is passing through the COVID-19 situation, this 'Kisan Rath' App will greatly facilitate farmers, FPOs and Cooperatives in the country to have the choice to find a suitable transport facility to transfer their agriculture produce from farm gate to markets.

The Mobile Application named "Kisan Rath" facilitates Farmers and Traders in identifying the right mode of transportation for movement of farm produce ranging from foodgrain (cereal, coarse cereal, pulses, etc), Fruits & Vegetables, oilseeds, spices, fiber crops, flowers, bamboo, log & minor forest produce, coconuts, etc. This App also facilitates traders in the transportation of perishable commodities by Reefer (Refrigerated) vehicles.

Transportation of agri produce is a critical and indispensable component of the supply chain. Under the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country currently due to lockdown, "Kisan Rath" will ensure smooth and seamless supply linkages between farmers, warehouses, FPOs, APMC mandis, and intra-State & inter-State buyers and help in the reduction of food wastage by providing timely services. All these will contribute to better prices for perishable commodities.

The Consignors (farmer, FPOs, buyer/ trader) places a requirement for transportation on this app which is disseminated to transport aggregators in the market, who in turn interface with various truckers and fleet owners for obtaining a competitive quote against the requirement and passes back the quote and trucker details to the Consignor. Thereafter, the Consignor directly negotiates offline with the trucker and finalizes the deal. Once the trip is completed, the user can provide a rating/ feedback for the trucker in the App which, over a period of time, becomes a feedback mechanism for the transporter to improve their services. This would also help the Consignors in the selection process of Logistics Service Providers in the future.

Shri Tomar, speaking on the occasion, further said that 'Kisan Rath' mobile App will also help in giving a boost to Inter-mandi and Inter-State trade of agriculture and horticulture produce in the country. The Minister said that this app, with the tagline "Kisan ka Apna Vahan", is an important milestone in agri-produce transportation.

The Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Parshottam Rupala and Shri Kailash Choudhary, Secretary (AC&FW), Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary (Electronics and IT), Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC and senior officers of the Ministry participated in the Kisan Rath mobile app launch ceremony through video conference.

This Mobile App. will be made available in 08 languages in Android version initially, and is ready for pan-India use.

(With Inputs from PIB)