Bhubaneswar, May 2: The Odisha State Agricultural Marketing Board (OSAM Board) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad to facilitate implementation of the “Agri Marketing Network” project.
The State Cooperation Department has initiated “Agri Marketing Network” linking all 66 Regulated Market Committees (RMCs), 43 Krushak Bazars, 76 Municipal markets, including 800 FPOs and Women SHGs in the State.
The MOA was signed in the presence of Cooperation Department Secretary Sanjeeb Kumar Chadha and CEO & Cluster leader ICRISAT CEO & Cluster leader Aravazhi Selvaraj.
The project aims at transforming Agri-Marketing through operationalizing RMCs, developing market linkages and empowering farmers through supply chain management in Odisha.
The objectives of the MoA include study for developing entity level integration and development of implementation plan, handholding and mentoring for effectively operationalizing primary processing centres/pack houses in RMC areas, establishing market linkages for women-led SHGs and development of market information system/MIS Dashboard Platform.
Cooperation Department Secretary Sanjeeb Kumar Chadha said that the major activities to be undertaken by the ICRISAT-ABI, as per the clauses of the MoA include primary survey of fresh produce markets, retail outlets and buyers in different cities, secondary research on demand assessment, study on calendar of requirements, packaging needs and pricing, identification of customer segments and purchase behaviour for segment prioritization, customers need assessment and potential market opportunities, business process mapping, identification of need-gaps in the process, streamlining digital and physical process for produce trading, business process for linking farmers and buyers, identification of promotion and marketing strategies and customer acquisition plan.
The period of the project will be for three years from the date of signing of the MOA. The Nodal officer for implementation of the project will be Chief Executive Officer (CEO), AIP-ICRISAT. The Organisation will submit reports to the OSAM Board at three different stages of the project- one at the inception stage, quarterly reports indicating the progress of the project and one final completion report in April 2026.
