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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and urged him to direct NAFED to purchase gram crop as per the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the state.
Chouhan sought Centre's direction to the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to purchase gram crop at the MSP in the state as the farmers are getting paid below the MSP in the open market, official sources said.
"The Chief Minister also urged Singh to raise the credit limit of NAFED to Rs 5,000 crore in the interest of farmers," they said.
Chouhan told the Prime Minister that Madhya Pradesh was the largest producer of gram crop in the country and added that while the Centre has declared the MSP for gram crop as Rs 3,100 per quintal, its prevailing market rate was around Rs 2,324 per quintal, forcing the farmers to sell their produce below the MSP.
In his 15-minute long meeting with the Prime Minister, Chouhan said that the state is expecting a bumper crop of gram this year and if it is purchased at the MSP, the total production may cross 15 lakh MT.
"It is the duty of the state government to ensure that farmers get due price for their produce and they cannot be left at the mercy of market forces," Chouhan was quoted saying.
The Chief Minister also gave a proposal that if the Agriculture Ministry is ready to recognise MARKFED (Marketing Federation), a state body, as an agency for the purchase of the agriculture produce, then the state government would happily grant its approval for it.
Agreeing with Chouhan's plea, the Prime Minister said that the Centre is committed to purchase gram crop at MSP and would take necessary action in this regard, sources said.
Later, Chouhan also apprised the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the issue who also assured complete cooperation on the matter.
