Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda reviewed the procurement of onion from farmers in a meeting with senior officials of NAFED, NCCF, Ministry of Agriculture and Food & Consumer Affairs in New Delhi.
In the meeting, Munda said that the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is committed to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices.
He has said that the Modi government has always been concerned about the onion producing farmer brothers and sisters in the country and will continue to work with commitment for their interests in the future also.
It may be noted that in the current year, the government had directed NCCF and NAFED to purchase 7 lakh tonnes of onion for buffer stock. Till now, onion has been procured from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in two phases, while efforts are being made by the agencies to purchase onion from the farmers of Gujarat also.
In order to provide remunerative prices to the farmers, NCCF and NAFED have started distributing pamphlets to spread awareness among the farmers and FPOs. Besides, advertisements are also being published in newspapers for wide publicity and to reach out to the farmers with the aim of providing fair price to the farmers by purchasing quality produce.
During the meeting, Special Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that meetings have been held with the state governments with the aim of encouraging farmers to sow more onion.