For as long as I can remember, my father’s farm in Punjab had operated under the same cycle—plant, harvest, sell at the local mandi (market), and repeat. While the system had worked for decades, it was not farmer-friendly. Commission agents (arhtiyas) controlled pricing, dictated terms, and took their cuts from every transaction. Even after a successful harvest, there was no guarantee of a fair price or timely payments.

My father would often say, “We work the hardest, but we earn the least.” The reality of farming in Punjab was that middlemen profited more than the farmers themselves. The mandi system meant we could only sell in our designated local market, even if better prices were  available elsewhere.

But in 2021, something changed. A government initiative called eNAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market) promised to connect farmers directly with buyers across India through an online platform. At first, it seemed too good to be true. Could we really sell crops digitally? Would buyers trust an online listing? Would we even get paid on time?

With a mix of skepticism and hope, I convinced my father to give it a try.

One evening, I was scrolling through agricultural news when I saw an article about eNAM’s impact on Indian farmers. The portal had already registered more than 1.74 crore farmers, allowing them to trade across 1000+ regulated mandis in India. Farmers were no longer bound by geography—they could sell to buyers in different states and get better rates.

Despite my father’s doubts, we registered on eNAM in March 2021. The process was simple:

(eNam, 2023)

To our surprise, within hours, we received bids from buyers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, offering rates 15% higher than what our local mandi was paying. Instead of arguing with arhtiyas over a few rupees, we had multiple buyers competing for our mustard crop.

According to Single Grain, businesses using digital platforms can reach “a targeted group of people virtually” and remove the need for middlemen (Mahoney, 2023). eNAM did exactly that for us—it allowed farmers to interact directly with genuine buyers instead of relying on intermediaries.

The First Sale: A New Beginning

We decided to accept a bid from a Rajasthan-based oil mill, which offered us ₹5,400 per quintal for 50 quintals of mustard—much higher than the ₹4,700 our local mandi was offering. The best part? 

The payment was processed digitally and credited to our account within 24 hours.

My father couldn’t believe it. He had spent decades waiting weeks—even months—for payments from arhtiyas. Now, for the first time, he was paid immediately. 

This was a game-changer.

The impact of government-backed digital platforms like eNAM is similar to how social media has transformed business. The New York Times reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic, people shifted rapidly to online platforms, with traffic on sites like YouTube increasing by 15.3% (Koeze & Popper, 2020). This shift applied to farmers, too—when physical mandi operations were disrupted, digital marketplaces like eNAM became essential tools.

After our first successful transaction, we increased our digital sales. By December 2022, nearly 40% of our total produce was being sold through eNAM, reducing our dependence on traditional mandis. We also diversified our crops, growing more mustard and pulses—crops that had better demand in other states but were undervalued in Punjab.

This shift changed how we planned our farming. Instead of blindly growing wheat and rice, we started tracking price trends on eNAM. We learned that farmers in Haryana were getting higher prices for gram (chana) than in Punjab.

In response, we dedicated a portion of our land to gram cultivation—a decision that earned us 22% higher revenue the following season.

Our experience reflected the broader digital transformation happening in business. Single Grain’s report highlighted how online platforms enable businesses to gain more visibility, stating that “73% of marketers agree that social media is somewhat or very effective in their business strategy” (Mahoney, 2023). Similarly, eNAM provided farmers like us with market insights and direct access to buyers, making traditional mandi negotiations obsolete.