Larger role for private players in procurement at MSP could be challenging

The concept has been in the works for sometime now, with limited success

Last week, NITI Aayog along with representatives from the state governments and Central ministries discussed various options to ensure farmers get the right price for their produce, something which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his 2018-19 budget speech.

Among the various options that were discussed, according to an official statement released after the meeting, procurement by private players at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in lieu of a commission offered ‘great promise’. 

In fact, NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, according to the same statement, was of the opinion that some sort of commission should be given to