Introduction-

Assam being an agrarian state, the Agriculture and allied sector play a significant role in providing livelihood support to more than 75 percent of the population of the State, providing employment opportunities to more than 50 percent of total workforce. In this context the Govt. of Assam initiated a project titled “Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART)” which is funded by the World Bank. The objective of the project is to “add value and improve resilience of selected agriculture value chains, focusing on smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs in targeted districts of the State of Assam”.

Scope for ASWC under Project APART :

The focus of warehouse up-gradation activity under APART is to provide producers and agri-entrepreneurs, with high quality storage, access to finance through warehouse receipts, and option to sell via commodity exchanges. This would be done by up-gradation and modernization of about 34 warehouses of the Assam State Warehousing Corporation (ASWC) to  provide scientific storage; accreditation of these warehouses with Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA); partnering with commercial banks and collateral management agencies for negotiable warehouse receipt (NWR) financing of the stored goods; and piloting of online trading of selected commodities which allow such warehouses to be accredited as delivery centers for national electronic commodity exchanges. The activities to be financed would include modernization and upgrading of about 34 selected ASWC warehouses, setting up of commodity testing laboratories, purchase of computers and commodity exchange ticker displays, and electronic weighing machines in these warehouses as needed. In addition, the project will also finance training and capacity building of representatives of producer associations and related implementation staff. The training will encompass price analysis; systems and procedures to aggregate produce, access financing, and trade as a group; and benefits and risks in warehouse receipt financing and e-trading. The project will also finance technical assistance for the preparation of detailed architectural designs and work estimates along with detailed project proposal for each warehouse through a specialized agency to be engaged under the project as consultants.

Proposed interventions under Project APART:

The following interventions are proposed for up-gradation of warehouse infrastructure and revamping of ASWC

1. Improvement and up-gradation of the Infrastructure: APART will support improvement of the 34 warehouses. The existing infrastructure of the warehouses will also be upgraded e.g. by provision of computers with web connectivity and electronic weighing machines etc. In addition, program for setting up of electronic warehouse receipt generation system in the 34 warehouses will be undertaken.
2. Long Term Storage & Collateral Funding: Towards this, it is proposed to form partnerships/ collaborations with commercial banks, commodity exchanges and collateral management agencies.
3. Process Improvement: ASWC will improve existing stock management process by imparting training to the field staff directly dealing with stocks. Modernization of the warehouse equipments, computerization of entries etc. will be done. Fresh recruitment of contractual staff will ensure promptness of services and proper maintenance of stock. To this end, a two days training on “Modern Warehouse Management” has already been organized for warehouse managers and other staff on 16-17 July, 2018. In addition an exposure visit cum study tour has been completed during June 2019 to modern warehouses in Maharashtra.
4. Improvement of Internal Roads: Programs for improvement of internal roads and yard area will also be undertaken.
5. Product value preservation: Towards this activities like – (i) replacement of wooden crates by modern PVC molded floor pallets; (ii) provision for prophylactic treatment, fumigation cover, foot operated sprayers, hand sprayers, duster masks, gloves, boots etc. and (iii) provision of assaying instruments e.g. moisture meter, grading set, electronic weighing scales (100 Kg to 500 Kg) sample packing items, will be undertaken.
6. Assured customer orientated support services: The efficiency of the services being offered by the ASWC will be enhanced thorough capacity building programs and also arrange annual depositors meet, traders meet etc with stakeholders, insurance& financial service providers.
7. e-NWR installation and operation: The current manual NWR systems would be upgraded to web enabled services through complete reorientation of material transaction process. The operations that shall be included are - ERP System covering vendor engagement, system development & installation charge, training and implementation and recurring operational expenses.
8. Piloting e-auction and spot exchange platforms: Piloting of online trading of selected commodities which allow such warehouses to be accredited as delivery centers for national electronic commodity exchanges. This would be facilitated by the upcoming Assam Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2019 which is in the process of being enacted. As per the provisions of the Bill, warehouses can be designated as markets and accordingly, transactions (including online) can take place there.