Centre drops private participation in grain procurement from PM-AASHA

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to meet farmers' groups every Tuesday to hear grievances; expects higher kharif output despite surplus rains

The Centre has discontinued a sub-scheme that allowed private sector participation in the government’s grain procurement as per the rejigging of the flagship scheme of PM-AASHA to ensure minimum support price to farmers approved by the Union Cabinet.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday that PPSS (Private Procurement and Stockist Scheme) which was earlier part of the bouquet of programs offered under PM-AASHA has been scrapped as there was not much participation from private companies.

Chouhan was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a press conference organised as part of 100 days of Narendra Modi’s third term in office.

PPSS was run on a pilot basis for some time after Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) was launched in 2018.

However, there was not much participation from private players as companies felt that the 15 per cent cap on remuneration was too low in the event of a big drop in prices.

Chouhan also announced that starting next month he will meet farmers and organisations representing them from across the country every Tuesday to hear their grievances and address them.

The minister also said any decision on GM crops will not be taken unless there is a national consensus on it, as it is a sensitive issue.

On the impact of late rains on the standing kharif crops, Chouhan said that the country’s kharif (summer) rice production is expected to surpass last year’s levels.

“Rice sowing has progressed very well, thanks to good rainfall. Heavy rains in some areas like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have caused damage, but this will not bring down the production. Overall, rice production will be better than last year,” he said.

Kharif rice, harvested around November, accounts for about 70 per cent of India's total rice production.

In the 2023-24 crop year (July-June), kharif rice production stood at 114.36 million tonnes, as per the government’s third estimate. The minister reported that total rice acreage has increased by 1.64 million hectares to 41 million hectares as of last week.

Coming back to the changes made in PM-AASHA, Chouhan said that under the Price Deficiency Payment component which is similar to Madhya Pradesh’s Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY) now, states can make payments for up to 40 per cent of their oilseeds production which was earlier 25 per cent but the extent of central support will only be limited to 15 per cent of the difference between MSP and modal rates.

Working on revising sugar MSP: Joshi

Food Minister Prahlad Joshi said that the Centre is considering revising the Minimum Sale Price (MSP) which has been struck at around Rs 31 per kg in the last few years. MSP is the floor rate below which sugar mills can’t sell sugar in India, though the market price might be much higher. Joshi said the revision is being considered Fair and the Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane has risen significantly while there has not been a corresponding rise in MSP.