National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC), offering top-notch integrated services in post-harvest agri-ecosystem, today announced the launch of three direct procurement centres (DPC’s) at Bundi (Rajasthan) and Sasaram (Bihar) for paddy and Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh) for maize.
NBHC commenced direct farmer procurement in the last Kharif season with the objective of connecting farmers directly with end users i.e., processors and exporters by creating these DPCs as pilot projects and has successfully procured from over 700 farmers. In Chhindwara location in MP, NBHC has partnered with Krish-e, the farming as a service vertical of the Mahindra Group for enabling the procurement of maize directly from farmers. The company has achieved a milestone of having procured over 38,000 quintals of Rs.103 million of the gross merchandise value (GMV) in three commodities namely paddy (Basmati), paddy (Sonam and Katarni) and maize.
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In 2021, NBHC expanded its services through ‘Krishi Setu’, an e-market platform for providing end-to-end digitised services in the post-harvest agri value chain ecosystem. Krishi Setu is committed to providing access to the largest network of agri-commodity sellers, buyers, and lenders across the country. In the FY 2022-23, NBHC has transacted 1 million quintals valued at Rs. 2,650 million of GMV.
Commenting on this milestone, Deepak Kumar Singh, SVP & Business Head – Agri Commerce, NBHC said, “The changing agriculture policies paradigm is creating newer opportunities to serve farmers. As a trusted partner, it is our endeavour to positively impact farmers’ income by maintaining transparency in weighment, quality assaying, and enabling market linkages and financing options in our newly created DPCs in Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. We have also introduced the concept of ‘Kisan Saathi’, our local support system in these designated DPCs for providing logistics support to farmers for bringing in their produce at the DPCs. With an aim to promote village-level entrepreneurs as Kisan Saathis, we are proudly engaged with a total of 50 Kisan Saathis at these DPCs and wish to further augment the entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
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“We are delighted to share that our DPCs have received an amazing response from farmers, which demonstrates our commitment to empowering farmers by opening a gateway to lucrative deals and addressing their unmet needs. This represents a significant milestone for NBHC as we continue to grow and further our expansion plan of creating around 100 DPCs in the FY 2023-24. The combined power of our geographic spread, SOP-driven robust operations, and easy access through Krishi Setu promise to make NBHC an agritech powerhouse in the near future,” Singh further said.
“We thank our anchor buyers (largely processors), for their extended support and we further aim to connect with a greater number of processors and corporates to join us in our effort to enhance the farmers’ income, by directly procuring through NBHC Direct Procurement Centres,” he added.
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