Synopsis
The government is increasing pulse procurement this Rabi season, ensuring fair prices for farmers and promoting local cultivation. The initiative aims to enhance self-sufficiency in pulses and reduce import dependency.Key Takeaways
- Government enhancing pulse procurement.
- Support for farmers to achieve fair prices.
- Focus on self-sufficiency in pulse production.
- Encouragement for farmer registration on e-Samridhi portal.
- Impact of procurement on local agriculture.
New Delhi, Jan 22 (NationPress) The government has outlined strategies to boost the procurement of pulses during the ongoing Rabi season, ensuring that farmers receive fair prices for their produce and encouraging greater cultivation of pulses to lessen import reliance.
A senior official has indicated that instructions have been dispatched to the central nodal agencies, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF), to escalate the acquisition of Tur, Urad, and Masur pulses through the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF).
These agencies have pre-registered approximately 21 lakh farmers from major pulse-producing states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka on their portal for crop purchases.
Union Minister of Agriculture, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, previously assured that the Centre is dedicated to procuring 100 percent of the Tur, Urad, and Masur cultivated by farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), aiming to promote crop diversification and achieve self-sufficiency in pulse production.
Chouhan stated that the e-Samridhi portal has been activated through NAFED and NCCF for farmer registration, reaffirming the government’s commitment to procure these pulses at MSP from registered farmers.
He encouraged state governments to motivate more farmers to register on this portal to benefit from assured procurement.
During the 2023-24 Rabi season, the Centre procured 6.41 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of pulses valued at Rs 4,820 crore, benefiting 2.75 lakh farmers, as per official data.
The procurement included 2.49 LMT of Masoor, 43,000 MT of Chana, and 3.48 LMT of Moong.
Additionally, 12.19 LMT of oilseeds worth Rs 6,900 crore were procured from 5.29 lakh farmers.
At the beginning of the Kharif season, market prices of soybean were significantly below the MSP, causing severe hardship for farmers.
With the Centre's intervention under the PSS scheme, 5.62 LMT of soybean was procured at an MSP value of Rs. 2,700 crore, benefiting 2.42 lakh farmers.
