Volume 5 Issue 2 2026 – Journal of Plant Biota

Digitalization and Commercialization of Organic Farming: Assessing the Role of Digital Platforms in Improving Farmers’ Market Access

Prakruthi S N
Manjula, Apoorva Koli
Prajwal B P
Darshan Kumar G R

Introduction In India, organic farming is marketed as a way to improve soil health, reduce input costs, and provide safer food. Public support has been significant: by February 2025, the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) covered approximately 15 lakh hectares, 52,289 clusters, and 25.3 lakh farmers [25]; by 2023–2024, the total area under NPOP and PGS-India certification reached 59.74 lakh hectares [26]. However, certification and production do not ensure a profitable sale. Small and irregular lots, little local demand for high-quality produce, limited buyer discovery, and challenges demonstrating authenticity to far-off consumers are common challenges faced by small organic farmers. India has developed public digital infrastructure for agriculture at the same time. The Digital Agriculture Mission, approved on 2 September 2024 with an outlay of ₹2,817 crore, is built around AgriStack, a Krishi Decision Support System and soil profile mapping [24]. The e-NAM trading platform connects regulated mandis. The Jaivik Kheti webpage was designed with organic produce in mind. Scientists from Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) are connected to farmers through ICAR’s Kisan Sarathi platform. The cumulative impact of these systems on organic farmers has not been examined because they were created and are regulated independently. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 1. Digitalisation and Agricultural Market Access Due to its capacity to enhance price discovery, reduce information asymmetry, and connect farmers to geographically diverse buyers, digitalisation has become a crucial component of agricultural marketing. The potential of digital trading platforms to impact agricultural commodity prices and improve the efficiency of agricultural supply chains [1]. By providing information on prices, buyers, and market opportunities, digital platforms reduce search expenses. However, the benefits of digitalisation depend on the participation of buyers and sellers, as well as farmers’ ability with the platforms they are using. The authorexplored the extent to which digitisation impacted agricultural wholesale pricing and uncovered indications of better price realization upon the introduction of electronic agricultural markets. According to their findings, digital trading can reduce certain transaction-related inefficiencies and improve price transparency. However, the focus on traditional commodities implies the need for further research to determine whether organic markets provide similar advantages.[3] The author responded to the creation of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), an electronic platform intended to improve price discovery and integrate agricultural markets. The platform includes features such as online transactions, price information, and electronic bidding. Organic farmers, especially those producing storable commodities, may find these mechanisms beneficial, but further research is required to determine the market outcomes unique to organic products.[2] 2. E-Commerce and Digital Platforms in Agricultural Marketing A systematic review of e-commerce in the agri-food sector revealed the ability of online platforms to bridge geographical gaps between producers and consumers. E-commerce can enable direct marketing, enhance market data accessibility, and facilitate alternative marketing channels. Nonetheless, the utilization and success of e-commerce depend on infrastructure, digital capabilities, trust, logistics, and the nature of agricultural products.[32] The significance of e-commerce is especially vital for organic products since organic items have credence characteristics that consumers cannot adequately verify through physical inspection. Therefore, marketing organic products digitally requires not merely listing products, but systems for ensuring authenticity, certification, and traceability. The literature reviewed indicates that although digital agricultural platforms have proliferated rapidly, there is limited empirical evidence regarding their direct impact on the commercialization of organic farm products. Consequently, the available evidence supports conventional agricultural commodities more robustly than organic products. 3. Digital Platforms and Price Discovery Price discovery is one of the important mechanisms through which the digital platforms may contribute to commercialisation. The author [3] using the difference-in-differences approach and agricultural markets in Uttar Pradesh as a setting report improved inflation-adjusted wholesale prices after the digital market integration. Their study also referred to the earlier evidence regarding electronic trading and e-tendering. The innovations in agricultural marketing through the case of e-tendering in Karnataka. Their study provided the evidence concerning the role of electronic marketing mechanisms in improving market efficiency and price realization [20]. Similarly, the author have examined the impact of e-Mandi on commodity prices using the double-difference approach.[7] However, the literature reviewed in the document cautions that these findings cannot be automatically generalized to organic produce because the studies mostly concerned conventional commodities. Organic products require the additional verification regarding the production practices and certification. Therefore, the relationship between digital price discovery and organic price premiums remains an important research gap. 4. Organic Certification, Trust and Commercialization Organic produce is different from regular agricultural produce in that the organic production attribute is generally a credence attribute. This means that the consumer cannot fully assess production practices by simply looking at the product. Thus, certification, labelling and traceability become fundamental aspects of the organic market. The document highlights the NPOP and PGS-India, both certification systems in India, being endorsed through the FSSAI organic food regulations, as well as the Jaivik Bharat logo, a common identity for organic food, and the Indian Organic Integrity Database, an institutional mechanism providing searches of organic products and businesses. The author demonstrated the importance of institutional trust in online marketplaces. They demonstrate that the consumer’s willingness to participate in online transactions is partially explained by mechanisms that reduce perceived risk. In the realm of organic farming, this becomes more important in that the consumer needs reassurance that the product marketed as organic has been genuinely produced and certified according to the relevant standards. [21] Therefore, digital commercialization of organic produce needs to integrate digital market platforms with certification systems. Simply uploading an organic product listing does not build consumer trust or enable a price premium. 5. Digital Advisory and Agricultural Extension Digitalization is not limited to marketing and trading but also plays an essential role in agricultural extension and knowledge dissemination. The document mentions Kisan Sarathi as a digital advisory platform connecting farmers with experts through Krishi Vigyan Kendras. A difference-in-differences approach to evaluate Kisan Sarathi based on farmers’ participation in three districts of Uttar Pradesh. The study found that knowledge scores improved among users of the digital platform. However, the study evaluated … Read more

Horizontal Distribution Pattern: A Phorophyte Dependant Spatial Trend of Epiphytic Fern in a Greenbelt Corridor Using Geospatial Techniques

Edwin-Wosu, N.L.
Ahanonu, C.M.

1.0 INTRODUCTION The inquiry in the study of arboreal epiphytic fern has proven to be the basis and foundation for comprehending the nature and biology of vascular plants, in light of their ecological importance in both tropical and temperate regions. And their ability to control the potential regeneration of forest ecosystems [1, 2, 3]. They are regarded as “Islands” that grow on tree canopies and are highly sensitive to forest disturbance and obstructions [4, 5]. They are mostly herbaceous in nature and with a substantial water storage capacity; thus tend to influence the hydrology and energy flow in phorophyte canopies [6,7]. The presence, growth, and development of these epiphytic ferns influence the uptake of carbon and biomass production while serving as a microhabitat, source of food and medicine, and tree canopy nutrient cycling [8, 9, 10]. Arboreal epiphytic ferns have a great influence on biodiversity because of their great significance in contributing to plant diversity, with about 25% of their vascular nature observed in tropical forests [11]. The horizontal distribution of arboreal epiphytic ferns entails the horizontal spread of epiphytic species across a given area; such distribution is irregular as a result of ecological and abiotic environmental (sunlight, precipitation, etc) gradients [12]. Though the complexity in epiphytic fern distribution lies in their degree of arboreal lifestyle dependence, their specialized tissues and organs, which make it possible for their adaptation [13]; their distribution pattern is influenced by the forest structure, which involves the phorophyte height and type, species distribution, epiphytic density, and disturbances such as tree felling [14, 11, 15, 16, 17]. It has been highlighted that the ecology of epiphytic ferns is poorly harnessed despite their importance in biodiversity protection [18]. Arboreal epiphytic ferns are known to be seen on different substrates, showing distinct and different responses to environmental and ecological factors [19]. Arboreal epiphytic ferns like the Platycerium species have shown one of the greatest microclimate functions in retaining and maintaining the amount of moisture in tree canopies [20] while serving as a cool buffering microhabitat to relatively hot and dry greenbelt canopies [21]. Greenbelt canopy, an aggregate of tree crowns of vegetation stand, is known for it habitation system, supporting diverse organisms ranging from insects to plant species, including arboreal epiphytic ferns [22]. The use of randomness and deterministic approaches is highly crucial in the study of the canopies in rainforest communities [23]. The differences in the distribution of arboreal epiphytic ferns on a greenbelt canopy lie in the chance and limitations of their dispersal in different areas under different environmental gradients and canopy assemblages [19]. The phyto-social attributes of these epiphytic ferns have defined the greenbelt canopy as a hub to global biomass with the absolute ability to support numerous conditions that favour biodiversity [24]. It has been revealed that the complexity of elevation patterns, biotic and abiotic factors, is adversely affecting the various epiphytic fern phorophytes, and consequently generally posing difficulty in assessing their individual pattern of distribution, which informed the need for the adoption of geospatial tools [25]. Geospatial tools or Geographical Information Systems can be described as a hub for different geographical locations and maps of various abiotic and biotic indices, analyzing their combined attributes in order to produce a single result revealing their relationship [26]. The use and application of geospatial tools to understand the trends involved in the spatial distribution of epiphytic ferns within an ecological study area has also become one of the most recent approaches needed in the study of epiphytic fern biodiversity [27, 28]. This involves such tools as: the remote sensing, web-mapping, and GPS with its significant role to botanists, ecologists, and environmental managers as aid to the necessary information needed on the biodiversity of epiphytic fern [26]. Several studies have reported on epiphytic fern distribution with paucity of information as well as gaps in parts of Rivers State [28, 29, 30,31, 32, 33] and just about 4% of annual ecological publication on epiphytic fern distribution pattern [18]. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing the horizontal distribution of arboreal epiphytic ferns with the objectives of identifying the presence of epiphytic ferns and their distribution trend using the Average Nearest Neighbor (ANN) analysis to predict the distribution pattern on both the western and eastern wing of the greenbelt canopy. Significantly, this study will reveal the rate at which ferns are distributed with the use of modern geospatial tools. 2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Study Area and Field Sampling Delineation The geographical location of the study area (Fig.2.1), with its neighborhood location and site has been documented [32]. The environmental characteristics involving the climatic conditions, vegetation system and the edaphic conditions have been described [34, 35, 36]. The survey and inventory were carried out on the gradient horizontal distribution of arboreal-fern bearing Phorophyte greenbelt canopy of the study site. A total stand of 214 trees (mainly Azadirachta indica) were observed from the inlet direction of Delta -Abuja campus gate of the study location sampled site. The sample site was delineated into eastern and western wing using a total distance of 1560m for the eastern wing, consisting of 145 canopy formations of which 69 trees are epiphytic-fern bearing Phorophytes while the western wing covers a distance of 1600m with 109 canopy formations in which 72 of them are epiphytic-fern bearing Phorophytes. 2.2 Sampling Methods, Procedure and Analysis Using the line transect sampling design on the delineated eastern and western wing of the study sampled site, the Braun-Blanquet releve [37] and Rapid Representative of Epiphyte Diversity (RRED) [38] analytical methods were adapted. A total of 11 sampling plots were delineated on both the eastern and western wing. A handheld GPS (BHnav 300 model) was used to ascertain the geo-reference point of each tree Phorophyte along the horizontal row of the canopy gradients. The respective coordinates of all the Phorophytes and Non-Phorophytes tree stands and the obtained data were carefully inserted into the GIS ESRI’s ARCMAP to generate the satellite imagery and maps of study location and sample site revealing the … Read more