Centre revises Market Intervention Scheme guidelines ahead of talks with protesting farmers | India News

NEW DELHI: In a move which may create a conducive atmosphere for talks with protesting farmers in Chandigarh on Friday, the Centre has revised the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) guidelines that now increases the procurement limit of production quantity of select non-MSP perishable agricultural/horticultural crops from the existing 20% to 25%.
The revised guidelines, issued on Monday, also give states the option to pay the difference between the Market Intervention Price (MIP) and the selling price directly into the bank account of farmers.
MIS is implemented on the request of a state/UT govt for procurement of various perishable agricultural/horticultural commodities, such as tomato, onion and potato (TOP), for which Minimum Support Price (MSP) is not applicable and there is a reduction of at least 10% in market prices in states/UTs as compared to rates of the previous normal season. This is done so that farmers are not forced to sell their produce under distress.
The new guidelines are aimed at encouraging more states to implement MIS. Timing of the decision is expected to send a positive signal among farmer organisations who have been demanding legal guarantee to procurement of all crops at MSP.
Though the talks between representatives of the central govt and protesting farmers in Chandigarh on Feb 14 may not directly revolve around the legal guarantee issue, any move to strengthen procurement mechanisms will help the negotiators listen to demands of both sides in the backdrop of the ongoing reforms measures, including the one on MIS.
Under the new guidelines, MIS has been made a component of the integrated scheme of PM-AASHA, which was launched in Sept 2018 with an aim to provide price assurance for pulses, oilseeds and copra, ensuring financial stability for farmers, reduce post-harvest distress selling and promote crop diversification towards pulses and oilseeds.
In view of the falling prices of tomato in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other major producing states, the Centre has also taken the decision to implement the transportation component of the MIS. Under this provision, the operational cost incurred in storage and transportation of crops from the producing state to other consuming states will be reimbursed to central nodal agencies like NAFED and NCCF, in the interest of farmers of producing states.