Despite the news of Nafed groundnut godowns being gutted in the state of Gujarat, government owned media PIB has patted the Nafed for making an impressive turnaround and credits Government’s policy and able leadership for the same.
The PIB claims that Nafed has made record procurement of 31.91 lakh metric tonnes of pulses and oilseeds in 2017-18 benefiting over 20 lakh farmers. Money was directly transferred to farmers’ accounts. NAFED registered record numbers on other financial parameters and in 2018-19, it is expected to earn record profit, the release says.
Comparing the agri cooperative performance during UPA, the govt sources claims that Nafed was financially drained during the previous government and the institution was on the verge of closure with lawsuits piling up.
“It procured just 8 lakh metric tonnes of pulses and oilseeds from farmers in the last four years (2011-14) of the UPA regime while the same jumped to 64 lakh metric tonnes procured from farmers in 2014-18, thereby showing a remarkable increase”, the govt sources claimed.
On the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the bank guarantee of Nafed was increased to Rs 42,000 crore which was only Rs 200-250 crore during UPA, it says.
With the availability of bank guarantee to Nafed, it was possible to make record purchase from farmers. Reflecting the results of financial discipline and improvement, NAFED paid Rs 220 crore to the banks from its earnings, it adds.
Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh expressed hope that Nafed will continue to make record purchase from farmers and said that the government is committed to improving the condition and working of Nafed, it concludes.