Onion prices fall; Odisha govt not sought any help yet: Centre

Onion prices in Odisha have fallen sharply to Rs 3-4 per kg but the state government has not yet sought the Centre's help to procure it under a scheme, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today.
He said the state might not have requested for implementation of central scheme Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) as it does not want to bear 50 per cent cost of procurement.
"It has been brought to our notice that prices of onions have fallen sharply in Odisha and are selling at 3-4 per kg in mandis and farmers are affected. The Odisha government has not yet requested the Centre for implementation of MIS," Singh said in a statement.

The scheme is being implemented in some states. For instance, arecanut was procured from Karnataka under MIS. Similarly, chilli from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, while potato in Uttar Pradesh.
"It appears that the Odisha government does not want to bear the cost and for this reason it has not put request for implementing the scheme," Singh noted.
Under the MIS, those agri-commodities are procured whose MSP is not fixed and whose prices have gone up 10 per cent and production has increased by 10 per cent. The cost is borne 50:50 by both centre and state.