Centre charts MSP+ formula on pulses
It’ll benefit farmers even if market prices are higher than MSP as the govt will buy pulses at a price higher than that in market by calculating its average
image for illustrative purpose
Remunerative Pulses
- Govt aims at making cultivation of pulses more remunerative
- Nafed recently launched a portal
- It’s for registration, procurement, and payment of tur dal
- Farmers will have to register with NAFED and NCCF to avail the MSP
New Delhi: The central government has devised a formula to ensure that the farmers who grow pulses benefit even if the market prices are higher than the minimum support price (MSP). It will buy pulses from them at a price higher than that in the market by calculating its average, official sources told Bizz Buzz.
The exercise to devise the new formula is part of the government’s endeavor to make the cultivation of pulses more remunerative. For this purpose, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF), which is under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, recently launched a portal for the registration, procurement, and payment of tur dal. Farmers will have to register with NAFED and NCCF to avail the MSP.
Since many people are vegetarian, their main sources of protein are pulses. Besides, pulses are important for land reclamation because the cultivation of pulses increases the quality of the land. The cultivation of pulses adds 30-40 kg of nitrogen to the ground. Also, pulses require less water, so they also address the issue of the falling groundwater level in many parts of the country.
Home Minister Amit Shah recently announced that the government would create such a system that by 2027 India would be able to not just stop the import of pulses, but also export them. Shah, who is also the Minister of Cooperation, has urged farmers to become members of the newly-launched portal.
He also appealed to all farmers’ producer organizations or FPOs and progressive farmers to create awareness about the portal in all areas where pulses can be produced. He said that farmers should be made aware that registration can be done in all languages through a very simple step.
The government’s emphasis on the sale of pulses by farmers at attractive prices will play a big role in crop diversification in the country, the sources said.
