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NAFED procurement of oilseeds, pulses and Bharat Dal Photo: MOHD ADNAN KHAN · Pexels License · source ↗

NAFED procurement of oilseeds, pulses and Bharat Dal

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) is the central nodal agency for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and for buffer-stock operations under the Department of Consumer Affairs. It was registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act 1958 on the Republic Day of 1958 and is owned by member cooperatives across India.

PSS procurement mandate

When state mandi prices for notified pulses or oilseeds fall below the MSP, NAFED is designated by DA&FW to procure at MSP from farmers. The procurement chain is:

  • DA&FW issues the procurement notification on state request
  • NAFED enters into MoU with state-level cooperative federations — APMARKFED (Andhra Pradesh), MARKFED (Telangana), KAPPEC (Karnataka), MAHFED (Maharashtra), HAFED (Haryana), MARKFED (Punjab) — to operate physical procurement centres
  • State agencies register farmers, take delivery at notified centres at FAQ specifications, weigh, grade and pay MSP into Aadhaar-linked bank account
  • Stock is consolidated at NAFED warehouses and disposed through tenders, retail, processing or buffer transfer

For groundnut procurement in Andhra Pradesh, see NAFED groundnut MSP procurement.

Pulses buffer stock

Under the Price Stabilisation Fund framework, NAFED maintains a strategic buffer of 20-30 lakh tonnes of pulses (tur, urad, chana, moong, masur) on behalf of the Centre. The stock is built from PSS procurement and supplementary purchases and used to:

  • Moderate retail price spikes
  • Supply Public Distribution System (PDS)
  • Supply welfare schemes (mid-day meal, ICDS)
  • Release in the open market through tenders to dampen volatility

Bharat Dal — the retail brand

In July 2023 the Centre launched "Bharat Dal" — chana dal sold at Rs 60/kg through retail outlets of NAFED, NCCF and Kendriya Bhandar, sourced from NAFED's chana buffer stock at concessional consumer prices. The brand was extended to:

  • Bharat Atta — wheat flour at Rs 27.50/kg
  • Bharat Rice — at Rs 29/kg
  • Bharat Moong Dal — at Rs 107/kg

These retail interventions use NAFED procurement stocks to bypass private retail mark-ups and stabilise food inflation around general elections and festive demand peaks.

Edible-oil procurement and the National Mission on Edible Oils

Beyond PSS, NAFED is involved in the National Mission on Edible Oils — Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds) and the Oil Palm mission (NMEO-OP), procuring soybean and other oilseeds when prices fall, and supporting oil-palm fresh-fruit-bunch (FFB) pricing in expansion areas of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and the North-East.

Limitations

NAFED's procurement is reactive — it opens only when the state requests and the Centre approves, typically 4-8 weeks after the post-harvest crash. Storage and gunny shortages slow operations during peak intake. Disposal at sub-MSP prices generates losses borne under the PSS budget. Per-farmer quantity caps (typically 25-40 quintals) limit the share of crop that any one farmer can sell at MSP.

See also: Price Support Scheme, MSP — Minimum Support Price, NAFED groundnut MSP procurement in AP, MSP 23-crop list, Market Intervention Scheme.

Sources

  1. About NAFED. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India.
  2. Bharat Dal launch. Press Information Bureau.
  3. Buffer stock of pulses. Press Information Bureau.