(a) Write the main functions of Directorate of Marketing and Inspection. Discuss the roles of AGMARK and e-NAM in agricultural…

(a) Functions of the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection; AGMARK and e-NAM

The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare headquartered at Faridabad, works on marketing policy and standards. Its main functions are: implementing the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act 1937 and certifying produce under AGMARK; fixing grade standards; collecting and sharing market information (the AGMARKNET portal); guiding state marketing reforms and model laws; market research and surveys; training in grading and marketing; and administering marketing infrastructure schemes such as the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure scheme and rural godowns (Grameen Bhandaran Yojana).

AGMARK is the quality certification mark for agricultural and allied products (honey, ghee, spices, oils, pulses, cereals). It builds consumer trust, allows price differences by grade and helps exports, and authorised packers must grade at their own laboratories under DMI inspection.

e-NAM (launched 14 April 2016, with the Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium as lead agency) is a pan-India electronic trading portal linking regulated mandis. It permits online bidding and transparent price discovery, assaying of quality parameters, payment straight to the farmer's account, and wider access to buyers across states. Warehouse-based trading through electronic negotiable warehouse receipts and a "Platform of Platforms" (2021) extend its scope. Weak assaying facilities, limited interstate trade and low volumes at many mandis remain constraints.

(b) FPOs and the role of KVKs in climate-resilient agriculture

Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are collectives of farmers registered as producer companies or cooperatives. They address the needs of small and marginal farmers by pooling scale: bulk purchase of inputs at lower prices, shared machinery and storage, collective primary processing and value addition, direct sale to buyers with better bargaining power, credit and insurance access, and technical advice. The Central Sector Scheme for formation and promotion of 10,000 FPOs (2020), implemented through NAFED, NCDC, SFAC and NABARD, supports them with equity grants and handholding.

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), district-level farm science centres of ICAR (over 700), promote climate resilience through On-Farm Testing, frontline demonstrations and training. Under the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project (2011), KVKs run Climate Resilient Villages with drought- and flood-tolerant varieties (for example CR Dhan submergence-tolerant rice), contingency crop plans, rainwater harvesting, zero tillage and laser levelling, drip and fertigation, integrated farming systems, and weather-based agro-advisories, with custom-hiring centres for machinery.

(c) Integrated watershed management in rainfed agriculture

Rainfed farming covers about half of India's net sown area and contributes roughly 40% of food output, but it suffers from erratic rain, erosion, low moisture and low productivity. Integrated watershed management treats the whole catchment from ridge to valley with soil, water and vegetation measures: contour bunds, terraces, gully plugging, check dams, farm ponds and percolation tanks, with pasture and agroforestry on the upper slopes.

It conserves moisture in situ, reduces erosion and runoff, recharges groundwater, allows life-saving irrigation and cropping-system intensification, raises incomes and stabilises yields in drought years. Examples are Ralegan Siddhi, Hivre Bazar and Sukhomajri, and the programme now works through the watershed component of PMKSY, with community participation through watershed committees.