Odisha government to procure pulses, oilseeds from May 13

BHUBANESWAR :  The State government will start procurement of oilseeds and pulses at minimum support price (MSP) from farmers starting May 13. The Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has approved the State government’s proposal for procurement of 13,225 tonne green gram (moong), 700 tonne black gram (biri), 7,775 tonne groundnut pods and 675 tonne sunflower seeds at MSP announced by the Centre for 2021-22 rabi season to save farmers from exploitation by middlemen.

The Centre has fixed the MSP for fair average quality (FAQ) moong at Rs 7,196 per quintal, biri at Rs 6,000 per quintal, sunflower seed at Rs 5,885 per quintal, and groundnut at Rs 5,275 per quintal. The procurement operation, to continue for two months till August 10, will be undertaken by Odisha State Cooperative Marketing Federation (MARKFED) for National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED).

MARKFED being the nodal agency will procure oilseeds and pulses from registered farmers through primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) and large area multi-purpose cooperative societies (LAMPS), Regulated Market Committees (RMCs) and Farmers Producer Organisations having requisite infrastructure and sound financial position, said Cooperation Minister RP Swain. He said detailed guidelines for procurement of pulses and oilseeds have been issued to all district Collectors with specific reference to observance of Covid-19 guidelines.

The government will procure maximum two quintal moong and biri per acre while a registered farmer can sell six quintal groundnut per acre. Payment will be released directly to the bank accounts of the farmers on digital platform by MARKFED within three days from actual delivery of their produce to the procuring agencies.

The amount spent on procurement by the State government will be reimbursed by NAFED. Procurement centres will be finalised by a committee comprising representatives of MARKFED, NAFED, Deputy Director of Agriculture and Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies (DRCS) under the chairmanship of district Collectors.