Scindia launches NERACE App, holds meeting with Meghalaya CM, members of NEC
The NERACE app is intended to support agricultural and horticultural products and is designed to promote Northeast as a reliable partner in the international agricultural value chain
Shillong: Union minister of communications and development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday launched the North East Region Agri Commodity E-Connect (NERACE) with an aim to integrate farmers and sellers, enhancing agricultural connectivity in the North Eastern Region.
The app and web portal are expected to bring together 50,000 farmers and 5,000 buyers over the next five years. The NERACE app is intended to support agricultural and horticultural products and is designed to promote Northeast as a reliable partner in the international agricultural value chain.
It seeks to enhance the reach and profitability of high-value agro-horticultural products from the region. NERACE will promote local specialities like Black Rice, Kiwi, Large Cardamom, and medicinal plants in domestic and international markets.
Scindia reached Meghalaya’s capital Shillong on Friday where he chaired a review meeting together with chief minister Conrad Sangma and other state officials, with a focus on regional development projects and agricultural connectivity in the northeastern region. He also met the members of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
Sangma highlighted the critical roles of DoNER and the NEC in future state initiatives, emphasising the importance of inter-regional cooperation and agricultural logistics to empower local farmers. The duo discussed efforts to attract investments to the region, wherein Scindia reiterated the development goals set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasising that a developed India means a developed Northeast.
The meeting also included an address by Professor Mahendra Lama, chairman of the drafting committee, who presented the first draft of the North East Region (NER) Vision 2047.
The vision document outlines eight goals for the development of the Northeast region, including establishing it as a South Asian power hub, leveraging border areas as opportunities, promoting it as a green destination, creating an economic corridor, becoming a centre for climate studies for the Indian Himalayan region, developing medical and adventure tourism, serving as a melting pot of youth and culture, and achieving a peace dividend.
Scindia also visited the NEC secretariat in Shillong, and planted a sapling at the NEC garden, symbolising nurture and growth. He also interacted with local farmers benefiting from an NEC-funded agriculture project, demonstrating the Ministry’s commitment to supporting grassroots agricultural initiatives.
Addressing the gathering at the launch, Scindia stated, “This hour is dedicated to the people of the Northeast, our farmer friends, and entrepreneurs.”
He stated that NERACE is a transformative web portal and mobile app designed to connect the farmers of Northeast India with the global market.
“This initiative by the ministry of DoNER demonstrates our commitment to empowering our farmers by providing a platform where they can market their produce and negotiate prices in real-time and on a pre-booking basis….NERACE creates an ecosystem that connects the right buyers with farmers, ensuring remunerative prices and efficient management in marketing the farm products of the North East Region,” added Scindia.
NERACE (www.nerace.in) serves as a transformative web portal and mobile app, enhancing market connectivity by seamlessly connecting producers, buyers, and service providers, including transportation and cold storage solutions.
It operates as a unique Farm to Business (F2B) marketplace, facilitating price negotiation, bookings, and real-time product availability across over 50 crop categories, with plans to onboard 50,000 producers and 5,000 buyers within five years.
The platform also offers comprehensive support through integrated logistics solutions, market intelligence, and multilingual assistance to ensure secure and efficient transactions, underscored by rigorous pre-launch security audits to protect user data and transactions. NERACE aims to revolutionize the agricultural landscape of Northeast India by addressing challenges such as limited market access, perishability concerns, and dependency on intermediaries.
