Govt to buy all masur, urad, tur dal produced by farmers: Agri minister

Placing cabinet note of previous Cong government, Chauhan said it refused to accept suggestions of Swaminathan Commission saying mechanical linkage between MSP, cost of production would distort market

The government will procure the entire production of tur, urad, and masur dal from farmers, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Through e-Samridhi platform, on which farmers have to get themselves registered, the government will make the procurement, he said.

"The government will procure all tur, urad and masur dal produced by farmers," Chauhan said, while replying to a supplementary question in the Rajya Sabha.

The minister further said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government had the highest purchase under MSP from farmers.

Referring to data of the previous UPA government, Chauhan said between 2003-2004 and 2013-14, only 45 crore metric tonnes were purchased under the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

While the present NDA government has procured a total of 69.18 crore metric tonnes between 2014-15 and 2023-24.

He alleged that the opposition was doing politics and said the Swaminathan committee had recommended 50 per cent profit to farmers on their cost, but it was the UPA government that ignored it.

Placing a cabinet note of previous Manmohan Singh's government, Chauhan said it refused to accept suggestions of the Swaminathan Commission saying that mechanical linkage between MSP and cost of production would distort the market.

M Shanmugam of the DMK demanded that tea and coffee growers be brought under the MSP as they, too, are facing difficulties.

"It is a long-pending demand that tea and coffee should be added in the essential commodity because there is no MSP for them. The planters are demanding this," he said.

On this, Chouhan said MSP is granted on 23 crops and tea and coffee are handled by the commerce & industry minister, which is handled by his colleague Piyush Goyal.

Appreciating the issue raised by the DMK member, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said after the allocation of portfolios, he had called Goyal and said his ministry has some boards and enterprises that are directly related to the farmers.

"I would welcome and allow half an hour discussions if a member asks on Tea board, coffee board, Rubber board, Apeda, etc," said Dhanker, adding that even he has observed that there had been no value addition in tea in the last few years.

The chairman further said he expects that the ministry of agriculture and commerce & industry will get together and come back in the House the next session with the steps taken by the supplementary question raised by Shanmugam.