HYDERABAD: After clothes, accessories and electronics, crops are all set to go online! India's postal department is set to launch a pilot programme that seeks to help farmers sell their produce over the Internet, that too without spending a penny on transport. India Post shall introduce the probative programme in two locations-Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the next couple of weeks. The modus operandi will enable postmasters to use smartphones to take photos of the farm products and upload the details on a website that will serve as a trading platform.

"While it is free for farmers, India Post will collect a nominal fee from the buyers, apart from stipulating a condition that buyers should use the services of India Post for transporting the farm commodity to the required destination," BV Sudhakar, chief postmaster general for covering the two-Telugu speaking states, told ET.

An Andhra-based firm, NGIT Systems, has built the trading platform for India Post. The company has experience in developing online platforms for farmers to sell, buy and lease farms, crops, manures, cattle and farming equipment. With the proliferation of instant chat apps and courier services doing the exchange of letters rapidly, this initiative by India Post aims to put its vast network of post offices and employees to its best use and simultaneously traverse new-age business opportunities to generate revenue.

Terming it as the first of its kind initiative, Sudhakar said that, based on the results of pilot project, the postal department will decide on extending the service across the country. The idea of launching an agri-commodity trading platform was arrived at as part of India Post's asset maximisation strategy wherein it plans on improving revenue from its existing human and physical assets, including logistics network, said Sudhakar. Aimed at encouraging the postmasters in villages to participate in the new initiative and help improve revenue, the department is planning on special incentives packages and increasing the fleet size. The department expects to cover at least a third of these states and is targeting a minimum Rs 10 crore in revenue from agri-commodity trading in the first year.