In a stern move, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday urged cooperatives NAFED and NCCF to ensure effective and timely procurement wherever market prices are ruling below the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The decision was taken during a high-level review meeting held at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi.
Stressing that farmers’ interests remain the government’s foremost priority, the minister directed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) to ensure target-oriented procurement.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ensuring remunerative prices for farmers’ produce is a core commitment of the central government, and any laxity in implementing procurement operations will not be accepted,” he said.
“If market prices remain below MSP and procurement is still not taking place at the required scale, such a situation cannot be considered farmer-friendly,” he added.
Emphasising the need for better planning and accountability, Chouhan directed the agencies to set clear targets at the district and procurement-centre levels. He said that alongside state-wise allocations, agencies should prepare a concrete ground-level action plan based on district-wise production estimates, expected arrivals and assessment of at least 25 per cent procurement capacity so that procurement targets translate into actual results on the ground.
He also asked officials concerned to speed up the procurement of pulses and oilseeds, particularly gram (chana), lentil (masoor), urad and mustard, in regions where farmers are being forced to sell below MSP.
The minister directed agencies to maintain daily monitoring of critical operational aspects, including the number of procurement centres, procurement capacity, district-level bottlenecks, state government directives, local quality-related concerns and payment systems.
Any issue affecting procurement, he said, should immediately be escalated for resolution at the central level.
During the meeting, concerns were raised regarding delays in payments to farmers. Taking serious note of the issue, Chouhan directed officials to prepare a strict standard operating procedure to ensure payments are made within 72 hours and to hold consultations with states for its effective implementation.
