Government-backed cooperatives National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) together procured close to 18 lakh metric tonnes of agricultural commodities under the Atmanirbhar Krishi initiative, according to data cited in a report of a Parliamentary Standing Committee.
The report noted that NAFED procured 14,68,298 metric tonnes of crops such as tur, urad, masur and maize across several states. The procurement was carried out through 6,643 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) registered on the E-Samridhi portal, benefiting 3,97,473 farmers.
Meanwhile, NCCF procured 3,31,992 metric tonnes of agricultural commodities through a network of 53,105 PACS and FPOs, with 1,60,718 farmers reported to have benefited from the operations.
According to the report, more than 43.23 lakh farmers were registered under the NCCF procurement system, although the unique number of farmers stands at about 25.04 lakh, as many farmers are registered under multiple commodities.
The data indicates that states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh accounted for a significant share of procurement activities.
The Committee observed that procurement through PACS and FPOs has expanded the participation of cooperative institutions in agricultural marketing. It noted that such mechanisms aim to facilitate procurement operations and improve farmers’ access to cooperative channels under the broader objective of Atmanirbhar Krishi.
