New Delhi/Bhopal: National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India has started procuring masur harvested in the 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) rabi season from farmers in Madhya Pradesh, an official with the agency said.
"The procurement has been carried out under the price support scheme from April 6," the official said. "On the first day, only one farmer in Ratlam district sold 3 bags (1 bag = 100 kg) of masur at the procurement centre."
Under the scheme, NAFED procures commodities from farmers at the minimum support price when prices at physical markets decline. The government has fixed 5,100 rupees per 100 kg as the minimum support price of masur, traders said.
Procurement under the scheme is expected to gather momentum in the coming days due to higher production this year, traders said. According to the farm ministry's second advance estimate, the masur crop in the 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) season is estimated at 1.35 mln tn, up from 1.10 mln tn in the earlier estimate. Prices may fall with increasing harvesting and rising arrivals in spot markets, traders said.
NAFED, along with Food Corporation of India and Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium, buys pulses and oilseeds to ensure minimum support prices to farmers. Procurement by NAFED has been the highest, said the government official.
