New Delhi, Sep 26 — The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) is targeting a business turnover of around Rs 46,000 crore in the current year and is confident of surpassing the target, Chairman Jethabhai Ahir said on Saturday.
Ahir said NAFED’s procurement and business stood at around Rs 33,000 crore last year, adding that the federation is working to strengthen procurement systems and provide farmers with better market access.
Speaking to IANS, Ahir said NAFED’s procurement and business operations were worth around Rs 33,000 crore last year. He expressed confidence that the organisation’s business could rise to around Rs 46,000 crore during the current year and said NAFED could potentially exceed the target.
“Following the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Drone Didi initiative, NAFED wants to bring women, youth and farmers into this campaign so that modern technology can be used more extensively in agriculture and help increase farmers’ incomes,” Ahir said.
Meanwhile, NAFED Managing Director Deepak Agarwal said the organisation has set a procurement target of around Rs 30,000 crore for the current year, while emphasising that actual procurement would depend on market conditions and agricultural output.
He explained that government procurement tends to be lower when market prices remain above the minimum support price (MSP), while procurement increases when market prices fall below the MSP. Weather conditions, production levels and other market factors also influence the volume of procurement.
“Procurement does not take place merely because a target has been set. It depends on market conditions and production levels at the relevant time,” Agarwal said.
The AGM also approved a new welfare initiative under which NAFED will allocate one per cent of its net profit towards the education of children from farming families.
According to Agarwal, the higher share capital will enable more cooperative societies to become members of NAFED while also strengthening the organisation’s financial capacity.