Lok Sabha Question No. 369 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-04
Subject: Complaints  Regarding purchase of Onions by  NAFED
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS' WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS' WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 369

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2025

## COMPLAINTS REGARDING PURCHASE OF ONIONS BY NAFED

369. Dr. BACHHAV SHOBHA DINESH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  complaints  raised  by  the farmers and Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association against NAFED for purchasing onions through intermediaries at inflated rates bypassing direct deals with the farmers and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has instituted an enquiry to review into the issue, if so, the details thereof including findings of the investigation and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government has initiated any punitive action against those responsible for the cause and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government has taken any remedial measures in this regard and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कã  याण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a)  &  (b):      The  Government  had  taken  cognizance  of  the  alleged  complaints  relating  to procurement of onion under Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) administered by Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) through Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) raised by the  farmers  and  Maharashtra  State  Onion  Growers  association  against  NAFED  for purchasing  onions  through  intermediaries.  The  Government  constituted  a  Committee  of officers  at  appropriate  level  from  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers'  Welfare  to ascertain  the  fact  about  the  procurement  carried  out  by  NAFED  in  Nashik.  Besides,  a government  nominee  appointed  by  the  Government  on  the  Board  of  NAFED  had  also visited Nasik. Both the teams submitted their independent reports to the Government.

Both the Teams submitted their independent factual report and some key observations are summarised as follows:

4000 onion  farmers  registered  in  the  procurement  portal  of  supply  valid  (agency  of DoCA) under PSF during Rabi 2024 season out of which only 3300 farmers has sold the onions to the NAFED. The payment to the registered farmers was being made directly into their  bank  accounts,  although  some  technical  issues  were  observed.  There  was  lack  of awareness  in  the  publicity  regarding  government  procurement  of  onion  and  prevailing procurement prices. Offloading of procurement of onion under PSF in the months of OctNov led to drop in onion price. The procurement process such as registration on e-Peek Pahaani  portal  of  State  Govt.  and  therefore  the  processes  need  to  be  simplified  in  the interest of farmers. Farmer Producing Organisations (FPOs)/FPCs have played a constructive role in the development of this procurement ecosystem and invested heavily in creating farmgate infrastructure. This has also led to creation of ancillary employment in the area  besides  strengthening  the  FPO  movement  in  the  district,  in  line  with  Government's policies  in  this  regard.  Significant  improvements  have  been  made  by  NAFED  over  time, including improvement in recovery rate from 45% to 63% and reduction of storage losses from 25% to 15%. DOCA has appointed and independent agency for ensuring quality and quantity of the stock.

(c & d): As per the guideline of the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) Scheme of DoCA , the procurement  of  Rabi-24  Onion  was  to  be  preferably  done  from  farmers/(FPOs)/(FPCs)/ Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS). The Committee has not pointed out any corrupt  involvement  of  officers  in  the  procurement  of  onion  by  the  NAFED  from  farmers. However,  the  Government  has  taken  some  remedial  measures  to  further  strengthen  the procurement system for the wider outreach of procurement operations for onion under PSF as follows:

- (i) The farmers are registering themselves on the Portals of NAFED,  National Cooperative  Consumers'  Federation  of  India  Limited  (NCCF)  and  State's  Portal through Aadhar Based registration for selling their produce at government procurement centres.
- (ii) The  Procurement  portals  also  provide  farmers  with  the  latest/updated  information regarding  MSP  declared,  nearest  purchase  center,  date/period  of  procurement, allotment of slots/time to farmers against their booking for sale of produce etc. These enable the farmer to deliver stock as per his convenience in the nearest procurement centre.
- (iii) The land /crop records of the farmers are verified from the State land records online for those farmers who have registered for selling their produce. SMS and Whatsapp messages are sent to the farmers to make them aware about the procurement to be undertaken by various agencies of the Government. Agmarknet Portal is in place for daily  purchase  rates  of  commodities  to  make  the  farmers  aware  about  the  current market selling price of the produce.
- (iv) Further, the central Nodal Agencies like NAFED and NCCF undertaking procurement through the state level agencies ensure the release of DBT payment to farmers directly in  their  Aadhar  linked  bank  accounts  as  given  at  the  time  of  registration.  Since  the payment of MSP is being transferred into the farmer's bank account through RTGS or NEFT, the bank account of an individual farmer cannot be utilised to make payments of other farmers.