Union Commerce and Industry Ministry has inaugurated E-SANTA, an electronic marketplace providing a platform to connect aqua farmers and buyers.

Note:

Aquaculture also known as aquafarming is the farming of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic plants, algae, and other organisms. It involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish.

Mariculture commonly known as marine farming refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments and in underwater habitats, opposed to in freshwater.

E-SANTA

• The term e-SANTA was coined for the web portal, meaning Electronic Solution for Augmenting NaCSA farmers’ Trade-in Aquaculture.
• It will enable the farmers to get a better price and the exporters to directly purchase quality products from the farmers enhancing traceability, a key factor in international trade.
• National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) is an extension arm of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• It will raise income, lifestyle, self-reliance, quality levels, traceability, and provide new options for our aqua farmers.
• The platform will change the traditional way of carrying out business from a word of mouth basis to become more formalized & legally binding.

E-SANTA will RAISE the lives & income of farmers by:

1. Reducing Risk
2. Awareness of Products & Markets
3. Increase in Income
4. Shielding Against Wrong Practice
5. Ease of Processes

Its’ utility

• E-SANTA is a Digital Bridge to end the market divide and will act as an alternative marketing tool between farmers & buyers by eliminating middlemen.
• It will revolutionize traditional aqua farming by providing cashless, contactless and paperless electronic trade platform between farmers and exporters.
• It can become a tool to advertise collectively the kind of products the buyers, fishermen & fish producing organisations are harvesting.

How does it work?

• E-SANTA is a completely paperless and end-to-end electronic trade platform between Farmers and exporters.
• The farmers have the freedom to list their products and quote their price while the exporters have the freedom to list their requirements and also to choose the products based on their requirements.
• This enables the farmers and buyers to have greater control over the trade and enables them to make informed decisions.
• The platform provides a detailed specification of each product listing and it is backed by an end to end electronic payment system with NaCSA as an Escrow agent.
• After crop listing and online negotiation, a deal is struck, advance payment is made and an estimated invoice is generated.

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