Gandhinagar, Sep 30 (IANS): The Gujarat government has announced that it will begin purchasing groundnut, moong, urad, and soybean at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) from November 11.

Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel said that the aim is to support farmers and ensure fair compensation for their produce.

“The procurement process, set to last for 90 days, will commence after Labh Pancham and is expected to benefit a large number of farmers across the state,” he added.

Minister Patel highlighted that under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), procurement will start at more than 160 centres across the state.

“Farmers can sell their produce at MSP for 90 days and are required to register online on the e-Samruddhi portal via e-Gram centres between October 3 and October 31, 2024,” the minister said.

He said that the MSP rates announced by the Central government for the 2024-25 Kharif season are groundnut at Rs 6,783 per quintal, moong at Rs 8,682 per quintal, urad at Rs 7,400 per quintal, and soybean at Rs 4,892 per quintal.

“The previous year, the government procured over 1.18 lakh metric tons of produce worth Rs 671 crore from 61,372 farmers under the PSS scheme. The state government has extensively prepared to ensure that even more farmers benefit from MSP procurement this year,” the minister added.

Meanwhile, the Union government has raised the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops for the 2024-25 marketing season to ensure fair and remunerative prices for farmers.

The largest increase in MSP compared to the previous year has been for oilseeds and pulses, seeing the highest rise of Rs 983 per quintal, followed by sesamum at Rs 632 per quintal and tur/arhar at Rs 550 per quintal.