Given the difficulties faced in pulses procurement aimed at the creation of a buffer stock, an inter-ministerial group (IMG) monitoring prices of essential commodities has decided to make changes in the quality norms, which would help agencies like farmers' cooperative Nafed, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) in stepping up purchase of lentils from farmers.
Sources told FE that the IMG, comprising the officials including from the ministries of food, consumer affairs and agriculture, in a meeting on Wednesday, has decided to make changes in the quality norm for the procurement of pulses so that these agencies could purchase about 1 lakh tonne of pulses for the buffer stocks in the current year.
It has been decided that the agencies would follow norm decided under the Fair Average Quality (FAQ) — relating to foreign matter permissible, percentage of broken matter, etc. for the purchase of pulses from the farmers. As reported by FE, Nafed was finding it difficult to procure pulses from farmers to create a buffer stock because of stringent Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) quality norms.
“The issue of quality specifications was resolved and the procurement of essential commodities is expected to pick up in the coming weeks. With the new arrivals, the situation is expected to further improve,” a food ministry statement late on Wednesday said.
After a directive from the ministry to purchase 35,000 tonne of pulses this season (July-June), farmers’ cooperative Nafed began purchases of arhar dal from the farmers in Rajasthan a few weeks ago. However, sources said, of 39 samples picked up by the Nafed team, only two could meet the FSSAI norm of less than 1% foreign matter presence.
Sources told FE that the IMG, comprising the officials including from the ministries of food, consumer affairs and agriculture, in a meeting on Wednesday, has decided to make changes in the quality norm for the procurement of pulses so that these agencies could purchase about 1 lakh tonne of pulses for the buffer stocks in the current year.
It has been decided that the agencies would follow norm decided under the Fair Average Quality (FAQ) — relating to foreign matter permissible, percentage of broken matter, etc. for the purchase of pulses from the farmers. As reported by FE, Nafed was finding it difficult to procure pulses from farmers to create a buffer stock because of stringent Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) quality norms.
“The issue of quality specifications was resolved and the procurement of essential commodities is expected to pick up in the coming weeks. With the new arrivals, the situation is expected to further improve,” a food ministry statement late on Wednesday said.
After a directive from the ministry to purchase 35,000 tonne of pulses this season (July-June), farmers’ cooperative Nafed began purchases of arhar dal from the farmers in Rajasthan a few weeks ago. However, sources said, of 39 samples picked up by the Nafed team, only two could meet the FSSAI norm of less than 1% foreign matter presence.
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