Nashik: Nashik District Collector Ayush Prasad on Thursday reviewed the ongoing government onion procurement under the Centre's Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) at the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). Under the scheme, the government has set a target of procuring 2 lakh metric tonnes of onions this season through NAFED and NCCF.
During the meeting, the Collector directed officials to install prominent information boards at the entrance of market committees so that farmers can easily access details about the procurement scheme. He also instructed agencies to continue government procurement even after the regular auction process so that farmers receiving lower market prices can benefit from the scheme.
Prasad said the primary objective of the Market Intervention Scheme is to support onion prices. He noted that onion prices have increased by nearly 50 per cent over the past four-and-a-half weeks, adding that government procurement has played a significant role in strengthening market rates. Procurement is currently underway at nine APMCs in Nashik district, helping stabilise prices across the region.
So far, around 6,200 metric tonnes of onions have been procured by NAFED and NCCF. However, procurement has remained below expectations because open market prices rose faster than government procurement rates, prompting many farmers to sell to private traders. Despite this, the Collector said the scheme has achieved its objective of supporting market prices.
He further announced that lower-grade onions have now been included under the government procurement programme. To ensure wider awareness, authorities have been instructed to install information boards, conduct awareness campaigns through cooperative institutions, and provide guidance on the procurement process.
Responding to concerns that the government procurement centre at Lasalgaon is located about half a kilometre away from the market committee, Prasad said agencies had already been instructed to operate within the market premises. As the directions were not implemented, notices have been issued to the concerned institutions, and they have now been ordered to shift procurement operations to the market committee and immediately display boards indicating the centre's location and eligibility criteria.
On why government procurement is not conducted directly alongside traders inside the market, the Collector clarified that there is no regulatory hurdle. However, farmer registration is mandatory to prevent non-farmers from selling onions under the scheme, an issue reported in the past. He also referred to action taken against officials following irregularities in maize procurement at Chandwad and said adequate safeguards have been put in place to prevent malpractice in onion procurement. No official complaints have been received so far, he added.
Additional Collector Devdatt Kekan, Niphad Sub-Divisional Officer Dr Shashikant Mangarule, NAFED District Branch Manager Aniket Madan, NCCF District Branch Manager Shriharsh, APMC Director Suvarna Jagtap, Traders' Director Pravin Kadam, Secretary Narendra Wadhwane, and officials from various departments attended the meeting.
