Govt ropes in Nafed for buying perishables in glut areas

The government has roped in organisations like Nafed to undertake procurement of perishables from glut areas and sell them in places having high demand in a bid to ensure better prices to farmers, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Monday.

A mechanism is being worked out to link producing states with consuming states under the 'Green Operation' scheme covering tomato, onion and potatoes.

"We have already tied up with organisations like Nafed to make this happen. This well greatly help farmers by getting them proper income of their produce," Badal said after inaugurating second edition of export-focused food and beverage trade fair 'Indus Food'.

The government will get involved in this process and become facilitator to ensure that perishable items reach those involved in food processing industry also, she said in a statement.

Nafed is an agri-cooperative major that undertakes procurement of primarily pulses and oilseeds on behalf of the government.

"Everyday we hear news from states like UP, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra of farmers discarding their items or doing distress sale of their produce. But this is soon going to change...," the Minister said.

The Centre has already started work on developing mechanism to ensure that states producing any item in excess are able to transport that to other states where there is demand, she added.

Badal also expressed concern over poor food processing levels in the country.