Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. (File Photo)
MAKING YET another pro-farmer announcement in election year, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said a board on the lines of APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) will be set up in Madhya Pradesh to help farmers export and get remunerative price for their produce.
A Union government undertaking, APEDA functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of fruits and vegetables, cereal, poultry and meat among others.
Chouhan did not elaborate on the contours of the proposed board but said exports will ensure that farmers get better price for their product. He said this at a Kisan Maha Sammelan at Jabalpur when he electronically transferred Rs 2,245 crore incentive to the bank accounts of 10.8 lakh farmers from whom wheat was procured in the rabi season. MP has given incentive of Rs 265 over and above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 1,735 per quintal.