The Financial Express : Apr 20, 2020, 08:39 AM
New Delhi: Kisan Rath Mobile App: The Centre has launched Kisan Rath Mobile App that will facilitate farmers and traders to identify suitable transport facilities for the movement of farm produce during coronavirus lockdown. The App will allow transportation of farm produce from farm gate to mandi and from one to another mandi. It will ensure seamless supply linkages between farmers, FPOs, APMC mandis and intra-state and inter-state buyers.This app will also reduce wastage and contribute to better pricing of perishable commodities. Developed by the National Informatics Centre, Kisan Rath app will facilitate farmers and traders in searching for transport vehicles for primary and secondary transportation for movement of agriculture and horticulture produce.According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, primary transportation include movement from farm to mandis, food produce collection centre and warehouses while secondary transportation would include movement from mandis to intra-state and inter-state mandis, processing units, railway station, warehouses and wholesalers.Highlighting how the App will work, the ministry says that the consignors — farmer, FPOs, buyer/ trader — will place a requirement for transportation which will be disseminated to transport aggregators in the market, who in turn interface with truckers and fleet owners for obtaining a competitive quote.Then the quote by truckers will be passed back to the consignor. After this, the consignor will directly negotiate off line with the trucker and finalize the deal. The consignor can also share their feedback and give ratings to the truckers on the app. The rating would help the consignors in the selection process of logistics service providers in future.