Chouhan directs NAFED, NCCF to step up MSP procurement as pulse, oilseed prices slip

New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday directed cooperatives NAFED and NCCF to accelerate procurement at minimum support price (MSP) levels, as wholesale mandi prices of pulses and other rabi crops continue to slide below support levels.

Reviewing procurement operations, Chouhan told officials to treat the exercise as a "mission-mode responsibility" rather than a bureaucratic formality, stressing that depressed market prices without commensurate procurement action was not in farmers' interest.

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The minister asked both agencies -- the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) -- to set district-level targets, compile existing bottlenecks with proposed solutions, and show measurable improvement before the current procurement cycle closes.

Under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), the two agencies are mandated to procure produce at MSP whenever wholesale mandi prices fall below that threshold.

Chouhan directed that action plans be drawn up based on district-level production estimates, anticipated market arrivals, and a procurement capacity benchmark of 25 percent, an official statement said.

Crops under specific focus include gram, masoor, urad, and mustard -- key pulses and oilseeds where farmer realisations are under pressure.

On payments, the minister flagged delays as a "sensitive issue" and called for strict standard operating procedures to ensure farmers are paid within 72 hours of procurement.

The other state-specific concerns discussed in the meeting were absence of a direct benefit transfer mechanism in Bihar, payment delays in Gujarat, pending data reconciliation in Maharashtra, and additional procurement data awaited from Andhra Pradesh.

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Chouhan also directed the integration of state-level portals with the central CNA portal to improve transparency and tracking.

The minister assured that wherever state-level directives or local administrative hurdles were impeding procurement, the Centre would intervene through active coordination with state governments.

He reiterated that sustained growth in pulses and oilseed output depended on farmers being confident of MSP-backed procurement support in times of market distress.

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