Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan has approved the procurement of major pulses and oilseeds in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat for the Kharif 2025–26 season.
Chouhan gave a go-ahead for a 100 per cent procurement of urad (black lentils) and tur (pigeon pea) from farmers, while approving the purchase of moong (green gram), sesame, and groundnut in Uttar Pradesh, and soybean, moong, and groundnut in Gujarat.
He directed that the entire procurement process should be carried out in a transparent manner to protect the interests of farmers.
According to an official release, the procurement worth Rs 13,890.60 crore would benefit farmers of the two states directly.
A virtual meeting, chaired by Chouhan, was attended by Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi and his Gujarat counterpart Raghavji Patel. Union Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, along with senior agriculture officials of the Centre and both state governments, also joined the meeting, it added.
During the meeting, he emphasised that the procurement process must be transparent, digital, and smooth.
The agriculture ministers of both the states also assured that procurement would be carried out through digital portals with biometric authentication and POS machine systems.
After the discussions on Uttar Pradesh’s proposal, Chouhan approved the procurement of 2,27,860 metric tonnes (100percent) of urad worth Rs 1,777.30 crore.
He also approved a 100 per cent procurement of 1,13,780 metric tonnes of tur, valued at Rs 910.24 crore.
In addition, procurement of 1,983 metric tonnes of moong, worth Rs 17.38 crore, was approved.
The minister also sanctioned procurement of 30,410 metric tonnes of sesame worth Rs 299.42 crore, and 99,438 metric tonnes of groundnut worth Rs 722.22 crore.
For Gujarat, Chouhan approved the procurement of 47,780 metric tonnes of urad, valued at Rs 372.68 crore, along with 1,09,905 metric tonnes of soybean worth Rs 585.57 crore.
He also approved the procurement of 12,62,163 metric tonnes of groundnut worth Rs 9,167.08 crore, and 4,415 metric tonnes of moong, valued at Rs 38.71 crore.
It was informed that before the commencement of procurement at all centres, Aadhaar-based biometric or facial authentication and POS machines would be deployed – about 350 in Uttar Pradesh and around 400 in Gujarat.
Letters have been sent to National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) for pre-registration of farmers, ensuring that only registered farmers can sell their crops at MSP (minimum support price).
The entire procurement process will be carried out digitally through the e-Samriddhi and e-Samyukti portals, enabling direct payment into farmers’ bank accounts.
Chouhan further said that the approved quantities may be revised, if required, after the first advance estimates of Kharif 2025–26 are released, so that farmers derive maximum benefit.