Central government to buy Masur and Tur dal directly from the farmers

According to a report published in the Mint newspaper, the government of India is planning to buy 400,000 tonnes of toor/tur dal and 200,000 tonnes of Masur/Masoor dal directly from farmers at the minimum assured procurement price (MAPP) or at the dynamic buffer procurement price (DBPP), whichever is higher.

The MAPP is the weighted average price of a district's previous three trading days. The DBPP is the weighted average price of (a) the day of procurement(b) three previous days, and(c) three subsequent trading days.

Nodal agency for procurement of  Masur & Tur Dal  

In January 2024, the Union Ministry of Cooperation, headed by Amit Shah, launched a multilingual portal where registered farmers can directly sell their tur and masur dal to the government. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF) are the procurement agencies for this purpose.

According to the report, both agencies have procured around 8,000 tonnes of tur, and the procurement of masur is scheduled to start in March.

Why is the government taking this step?

• The government has taken this step due to lower production of tur pulses in the country and a fall in the government's buffer stock.
• In 2022-23(June -July), tur dal production is expected to be 30 lakh tonnes, down from 39 lakh tonnes last year. India consumes around 44 -45 lakh tonnes of tur dal annually. India has always been a large importer of tur dal and due to lower production in 2022-23, the prices of tur dal in the market have increased. 
• To control the market prices of tur dal, the government is targeting the import of around 12 lakh tonnes of tur dal annually. It is also selling tur dal from its buffer stock in the market, leading to a decline in the buffer stock. 
• Similarly, India is a large importer of masur dal. In 2022-23, India imported 11 lakh tonnes of masur dal.
• The mandated buffer stock of pulses is 3.1 million tonnes. The government currently holds 1.97 million tonnes of pulses as buffer stock. The required buffer stock of toor is 1 million tonnes and 6 lakh tonnes of masur. Currently, the government holds 36,000 tonnes of tur and 616,000 tonnes of masur.
• India is the world's largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. In 2022-23, it imported 24.96 lakh tonnes of pulses.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED)

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED) was established on 2nd October 1958.

It comes under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

NAFED has been registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act 2002.

NAFED was set up to benefit the farmers by promoting cooperative marketing of agricultural produce. The farmers are the main members of NAFED, forming the members of the  General Body of NAFED.

Headquarters: New Delhi 

Chairman: Dr. Bijender Singh.

National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF)

The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF) was established on 16 October 1965. 

It is the apex body of consumer cooperatives in the country and is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act 2002. 

It comes under the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

It operates through a network of 24 Branch Offices in different parts of the country. Headquarters: New Delhi.