Working towards making procurement system more farmer-centric: officials

Steps are being taken to ensure that the farmer, the backbone of food security system, receives fair price for produce and timely payments, said Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India.

Participating in a workshop titled ‘procurement reforms’, organised by the department in Vijayawada on Wednesday (September 10), Mr. Sanjeev Chopra underlined the Centre’s commitment to making procurement systems more transparent, technology driven and farmer-centric.

Participants, who also included K. Vijayanand, Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, A.P., and others, discussed transformation in milling practices, Joint Physical Verification (PV) of unmilled rice, strengthening State-level action plans for smoother procurement operations and adoption of digitised monitoring systems.

The State officials highlighted the best practices in procurement operations and A.P.’s action plan in achieving the above reforms. The State government also received recognition for proactive initiatives, such as farm gate procurement, strengthening procurement centres, ensuring timely farmer payments and modernising operations to complement Central reforms.

The workshop concluded on a strong note of collaboration between Central and State officials, along with FCI and procurement stakeholders, all of whom pledged to work hard to implement the reforms.