Following the State government’s appeal, the Centre has granted permission to procure 7,000 tonnes of ball copra at minimum support price, said Minister for Agricultural Marketing and Sugar Shivananda Patil.
Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, the Minister said the Centre would also be urged to grant permission to procure milling copra from growers. Earlier, the Union government had given approval for the procurement of 62,500 tonnes of copra.
Demand from legislators
The State has urged the Centre to grant permission to procure copra from growers following a demand from legislators from 14 coconut growing districts during the ongoing legislature session as well as from growers to open centers to procure copra for a few more days.
The Centre has fixed MSP for milling copra at ₹11,160 per quintal and for ball copra at ₹12,000 per quintal for the 2024 season. Milling copra is used to extract oil, while ball copra is consumed as dry fruit and used for religious purposes. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are major producers of milling copra while ball copra is used largely in Karnataka.
The registration for copra procurement that began on February 5, 2024 ended within three days, even though a large number of coconut growers had not registered their names. This led to protests by farmers in coconut growing districts. Moreover, legislators have alleged that the officers of NAFED joined hands with a few merchants and ended the registration process abruptly. MLAs also alleged that many merchants registered in the name of farmers.
Mr. Patil said six procurement centres would be opened and steps would be taken for prevention of misuse of the facility.
On APMC Bill
The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, has been passed in the Legislative Council on Friday and it is being implemented for the benefit of farmers and traders. Earlier, the Bill was referred to the select committee of the Council and committee members visited various districts and suggested 27 points and all of them have been included in the Bill, he said. The Opposition BJP and JD(S) supported the Bill.
Mr. Patil said the department was planning to reduce APMC cess for the benefit of farmers and revenue would be generated by trading more commodities. More than 70% of farm goods are being traded outside the APMC premises. The reduction of cess would also aim to encourage farmers to bring their produce to APMC yards, he added.
Indira Canteens at APMCs
The Minister said Indira Canteens would be opened at Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) yards across the State. Already, canters have been opened in Ballari and Mysuru APMC yards.
