Government may announce new crop procurement mechanism soon: Sources

To maximise the reach of Minimum Support Price (MSP) hike, government may announce a new crop procurement mechanism soon.Sources aware of the development have informed Prakash Priyadarshi of Zee Business that the government has finalised the procurement formula and the new crop procurement policy can be announced during the next cabinet meeting that is scheduled to be held in the third week of July 2018.

The government may approve more than one formula for procurement.

According to the sources, the government will incentivise private players for purchasing crops from farmers at the MSP. It may also approve the formula under which the difference between the MSP and the market price will be paid directly by the government.

In addition, to keep price manipulation under control, it may also cap the prices between 10-20 per cent. States can get the rights to procure certain crops directly without the approval of the Centre.
Besides, an additional fund to encourage procurement infra and development of warehouses can be announced during the cabinet meeting.

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Last week, CCEA hiked the minimum support price for paddy by a record 200 rupees per quintal. Briefing about the decision in New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the cabinet has approved the MSP of 14 Kharif crops for the 2018-19 season.