After receiving complaints of irregularities by traders in procurement of groundnut at MSP, Nafed- the main procuring agency NAFED has urged the government to procure groundnut only from the APMC centers.
It also suggested that other centers be closed down. A source says if Nafed’s request is accepted, it would mean shutting down 100 centers in Saurashtra.
Earlier, Nafed had announced that it would stop the procurement work after achieving the target of 8 lakh tonne.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat government decision to buy additional 4 lakh metric tonne groundnut at minimum support price (MSP) is not likely to ease farmers’ distress due to an oversupply of groundnut on the market.
Gujarat State Co-operative Marketing Federation (Gujcomasol) and Gujarat State Co-operative Cotton Federation Limited (Gujcot) have been asked to execute the procurement work.