Govt develops application ecosystem to expedite procurement of farmers’ produce
The move is expected to expedite the reconciliation of procurement figures with states and the release of funds by the central government to the states
The Department of Food and Public Distribution’s recently developed application ecosystem will allow the integration of all state governments procurement portals having Minimum Threshold Parameters (MTPs) for monitoring and strategic decision making, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement on Thursday.
The ministry said, “This process began with the onset of KMS 2021-22 in October 2021. The introduction of Minimum Threshold Parameters (MTPs) in procurement operations are necessitated to avoid middlemen in procurement and ensure that farmers get the best value for their produce.”
The move is expected to expedite the reconciliation of procurement figures with states and the release of funds by the central government to the states.
The application ecosystem will particularly benefit the farmers and procuring agencies, the ministry said. Farmers will be able to sell their produce at suitable prices and avoid “distress sale”. With better management of procurement operations, the state agencies and FCI will be able to procure efficiently despite limited resources. In addition, the automation and standardization of procurement operations will provide “an integrated view of procurement of foodgrains and its storage in godowns.”
There are several Minimum Threshold Parameters that must be captured in all the procurement portals to ensure uniformity. These include online registration of farmers and sharecroppers with all relevant details, integration of registered farmers’ data with states’ land record portal, and online payment through Expenditure Advance Transfer (EAT) module of PFMS which will ensure direct and speedy transfer of MSP to farmers.
Due to context-specific variations in the procurement systems across different states, there were systemic and implementation challenges for enforcing the schemes of the Central Government.
The ministry said that reconciliation of the procurement operations with various states is sometimes a long-drawn exercise, causing avoidable delays in the release of funds to the states. Non-standard procurement operations add to the avoidable inefficiencies, which the ministry noted, “manifest in the form of middlemen in the procurement operations.”
“Standardization of the operations are essential in helping the country achieve greater levels of transparency and efficiency in procurement operations, which ultimately lead to ensuring food security for the people of the country,” the ministry said.
The ministry also highlighted that the government has sensitized state governments and other public procuring agencies over multiple forums on the need for MTP compliance for procurement operations The ministry also highlighted that the government has sensitized state governments and other public procuring agencies over multiple forums on the need for MTP compliance for procurement operations and its integration with the central portal, namely Central Food Grains Procurement Portal (CFPP).