In a bid to create a mobile platform for digitising agriculture marketplaces, Government of Andhra Pradesh and Mastercard unveiled e-Rythu (e-farmer in Telugu).
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the digital platform in Amaravati.
e-Rythu is a mobile platform that digitises agriculture marketplaces, payments, workflows, and offers farmers a convenient option to buy, sell and receive payments for agricultural products with the help of their phones.
This initiative will significantly help farmers in selling their produce and connect with the right buyers more efficiently in the local language and also receive the best possible prices.
The platform has been exclusively designed by Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi, Kenya and customised for India usage by the Labs team based at Pune.
e-Rythu aims to reach one million horticulture and agriculture farmers and more than 300 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) of Andhra Pradesh.
“Andhra Pradesh has led the way for information technology implementation in the country. It is time that we leverage innovation in technology to address the challenges present in the state’s horticulture sector. Our partnership with Mastercard to introduce e-Rythu will make horticulture markets more transparent for sellers, buyers, and other stakeholders, and pave the way for financial inclusion of millions of small and medium farmers in the state,” said Chiranjiv Choudhary, Commissioner of Horticulture, Andhra Pradesh.
“Mastercard is glad to extend partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to introduce e-Rythu, a digital solution that will help farmers deal with the challenges of receiving the optimum price for their produce and gaining access to the marketplace. At Mastercard, we are confident that the use of digital solutions can potentially transform the lives of millions of farmers in India by providing them financial access, transparency and inclusion,” said Porush Singh, division president, South Asia, Mastercard.
Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion had rolled out this solution successfully in Nairobi, Kenya. It is also operational as 2Kuze (local name in Swahili) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. In association with the financial institution partners, the labs aim to reach approximately one million smallholder farmer households in East Africa in the next 5 years.
