EEI, Hyd conducted On Campus Training Programme on Digital Marketing Strategies for connecting buyers and sellers in Agriculture for the Officers of Department of Agriculture Marketing and Agribusiness, Tamil Nadu State from 20th - 24th May, 2025

Digital marketing in agriculture utilizes online strategies and tools to promote and market agricultural products and services, connecting farmers, agribusinesses, and consumers. This includes leveraging digital channels like websites, social media, email, and search engine optimization to enhance engagement, improve brand visibility, and ultimately drive growth in the sector. India is a country of villages. Rural development is most important element for the countries development. For rural development government has taken many steps. Digital marketing is one of the innovation developments by the government to sell products digitally without the intervention of mediators. Digital Marketing is helpful to farmers to sell their products globally. Digital India movement launched on the 1st July 2015 had its goals cleared of transforming rural India into a digitally empowered economy. After this movement many of the industries are started to sell their products digitally. Young Agriculturalists are ready to adopt digital marketing tools to reach their products globally. Keeping this in view the Extension Education Institute, Hyderabad has organized an On Campus Training Programme on ‘Digital Marketing Strategies for connecting buyers and sellers in Agriculture’ for the Officers of Department of Agriculture Marketing and Agribusiness, Tamil Nadu State from 20th - 24th May, 2025 at EEI, Hyderabad. During the inauguration Dr.M.Yakadri, Director of Extension, PJTAU emphasized that, all the officers working with farmers should themselves equipped with knowledge on application of various digital applications in marketing the agriculture produce by the farmers to realize more profits in farming. Dr. M. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Director, Extension Education Institute, Hyderabad narrated the scope of digital marketing in agriculture stating that a lot of different businesses have taken up digital marketing strategies, and run a mix of offline and online campaigns, the technology adoption rate in the agriculture sector is comparatively low. This may be due to the perception that non-digital techniques are more fruitful in this case. However, Government of India has taken up several initiatives, the most significant being the "Digital India Movement" in 2015, which is aimed at transforming rural India into a digitally powered economy. This program also strives to increase digital literacy and the adoption of digital services. Applications are developed by the government as well as individuals to educate farmers regarding best farming practices, crop care, and weather forecast. The Content covered in the programme was- Digital Marketing strategies for connecting buyers and sellers in Agriculture : An Overview, Digital Marketing Initiatives in agriculture, Market Intelligence and Market Networking of Agriculture commodities, Digital Marketing Initiatives in Marketing of Agri commodities by FPOs, State and National Level Portals in Marketing of Agriculture products, Role of e-NAM in Promotion of Marketing in Agriculture, Sharing of experiences in digital marketing, Extension Strategies for promotion of Digital marketing in Agriculture, IT Enabled Marketing in agriculture, Visit to a private firm- Kalagura gampa, Moinabad to get orientation on Online marketing of Agri commodities, GOI Programmes and Schemes in agri and allied Sectors, Gender Mainstreaming and budgeting in agriculture sector, Case based presentations by the participants, Development Programmes and Schemes of State and Central Govts for Agri products Marketing, Digital Marketing in agriculture: Success cases, EEI Blog Orientation and Back Home planning by the participants. During the valediction, Dr. M. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Director, Extension Education Institute, Hyderabad highlighted the challenges like infrastructure issues, connectivity issues, reluctance to switch to alternate channels etc., and benefits of digital marketing in agriculture like Disintermediation of middlemen, Growth and Transfer of Knowledge, Ability to connect to a wider audience etc., and appealed all the trained officers to disseminate the learned techniques to farming community to upscale the digital marketing in agriculture. The participants expressed during their feedback that, they have come learnt an array of new tools and techniques in marketing the framers produce through digital platforms, interaction with the practicing agripreneurs has surfaced new ideas in digital transactions and the practical exercises were engaged them to feel the real-time experience. Nineteen (19) Officers of Department of Agriculture Marketing and Agribusiness, Tamil Nadu State were participated in the programme, which was coordinated by Dr.P.Vijayalaxmi, Professor, EEI, Hyderabad.