Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) In a major relief to the farmers, who are struggling to cope with the havoc wreaked by the unseasonal rains and procurement of pending tur stock, the Centre has extended the deadline for its purchase till May 28.

“Considering the demand of the tur farmers and public representatives in Maharashtra, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has now extended the deadline for the procurement of tur under the price support scheme (PSS) through NAFED and NCCF till May 28. This has brought great relief to the tur farmers in the state,” said the Maharashtra Marketing Minister Jayakumar Rawal here on Thursday.

He has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for extending the deadline for the procurement of tur, considering the demand of the tur farmers.

The deadline for purchasing tur in the state was extended till May 13. Keeping in view the demand of tur farmers, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Marketing Minister Jayakumar Rawal had requested the Central government to extend the deadline for purchasing tur. A similar proposal was sent by the Marketing Department to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Welfare. Taking cognisance of this demand, this deadline has been extended till May 28, said the government release.

Minister Rawal said that in the state, 1,37,458 farmers have registered online for the purchase of tur, out of which 1,02,951 MT of tur has been purchased from 69,189 farmers till May 13.

“As per the Central Government’s guidelines, the 90-day period for the procurement process ended on May 13.. There was a demand for an extension of time for the remaining registered farmers to purchase tur at the guaranteed price,” said the minister.

The Central government has approved the purchase of 2,97,430 metric tonnes of tur under PSS for the state in the 2024-2025 season. For this, 764 procurement centres are operational in the state through eight state-level nodal institutions, through the central nodal institutions NAFED and NCCF.

“The state is purchasing tur at a guaranteed price of Rs 7,550 through NAFED and NCCF. Farmers are benefiting greatly from the guaranteed price as the prices of tur are currently low in the market. For this, a demand was made to the central government to extend the deadline for purchasing tur from the remaining farmers so that they can purchase tur at the guaranteed price,” said the release.

A senior officer from the state Agriculture Department said that the Centre has procured 3,40,000 tonnes of tur (pigeon pea) so far this year under the PSS, according to agriculture ministry data.

“Tur procurement is being undertaken at a minimum support price (MSP) under the scheme. The ministry has sanctioned 13.22 lakh tonnes of tur procurement from nine states. The government aims to maintain a buffer stock of 10 lakh tonnes of tur to release in the open market to check prices, said a senior officer from the state agriculture department,” the officer said.

–IANS

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