FarmConnect

FarmConnect is a bilingual (English and Marathi) full-stack marketplace designed to connect farmers directly with vendors, reduce dependency on middlemen, and improve transparency in crop pricing.

Live Deployment (Version 2)

• Frontend (Vercel): https://farmconnect-pied.vercel.app/
• Backend API (Render): https://farmconnect-api-cqc0.onrender.com

Project Overview

The platform includes:

• Live crop-buying listings posted by approved vendors
• Farmer, vendor, and admin role-based flows
• Admin approval workflow for vendor onboarding
• Government scheme reference section
• MSP (Minimum Support Price) information for key crops
• Community forum with likes and comments

Repository Structure

farmconnect/
  client/    React + Vite frontend
  server/    Node.js + Express + MongoDB backend

Technology Stack

• Frontend: React 18, Vite, Tailwind CSS, React Router, Axios
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose, JWT, bcryptjs
• Development: Nodemon, PostCSS, Autoprefixer

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm 9+
• MongoDB instance (local or Atlas)

Local Development Setup

1. Backend Setup

cd server
npm install
copy .env.example .env

Update server/.env with environment-specific values.

Start backend:

npm run dev

Backend runs on http://localhost:5000 by default.

2. Frontend Setup

cd client
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend runs on http://localhost:5173 by default.

Environment Variables

Backend (server/.env)

• PORT: API port (default: 5000)
• MONGO_URI: MongoDB connection string
• JWT_SECRET: JWT signing secret
• NODE_ENV: environment (development or production)
• ADMIN_EMAIL: seed admin email (used if no admin exists)
• ADMIN_PASSWORD: seed admin password (used if no admin exists)

Frontend (client/.env, optional)

• VITE_API_URL: API base URL (fallback in source is https://farmconnect-api-cqc0.onrender.com/api)

Frontend (client/.env.production)

• VITE_API_URL=https://farmconnect-api-cqc0.onrender.com/api

Available Scripts

Client

• npm run dev: start development server
• npm run build: create production build
• npm run preview: preview production build locally

Server

• npm run dev: start server with nodemon
• npm start: start server in standard mode

Deployment Notes

• Deploy backend from the server/ folder (for example on Render or similar providers)
• Deploy frontend from the client/ folder (for example on Vercel or Netlify)
• Set VITE_API_URL in frontend deployment environment to your deployed backend API URL ending with /api
• Current production API URL: https://farmconnect-api-cqc0.onrender.com/api

First Release Scope

This version focuses on core marketplace capabilities and role-based workflows, with responsive support for mobile and desktop. Future versions can extend analytics, notifications, and deeper marketplace intelligence.