MADURAI: With the procurement season coming to an end, the agricultural marketing department has procured more than 125 metric tonnes of copra, which is 70 tonnes more than the amount of copra procured in the previous year. A proposal has been sent for the extension period for copra procurement.
The procurement of copra was carried out under the Price Support Scheme by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.( NAFED) through the agricultural marketing department between April and September this year. While the procurement target for Madurai was set as 100 metric tonnes for this year at Rs 10,860 per quintal, the numbers exceeded the annual target as many farmers made use of the awareness programmes and training programmes organised by the agricultural department.
Official sources said during the previous year (2022), about 16.9 metric tonnes (9.7 metric tonnes from Vadipatti Regulatory Market and 7.2 metric tonnes from Melur Regulatory Market) were procured in Madurai. "Notably, many farmers were not aware of the procedure on how copra should be maintained as per the procurement standards. Thus this year the numbers have notably increased in Madurai than last year," officials added.
While speaking, V Mercy Jeyarani, secretary of the marketing committee in the Agricultural Marketing department in Madurai, said this year, more farmers brought copra as per the procurement standards. "Though the target was 100 tonnes, more than 125 tonnes of copra has been procured in Madurai by the end of the season that began in April. The farmers were periodically paid the procurement fees. All the procured copra has been kept in NAFED-certified storage facilities in Theni and Karaikudi areas," she said.
Official sources said a proposal has been sent for extending the procurement period. "Farmers requested the union government to extend the period as more farmers have been showing interest towards selling their copra under the scheme. The farmers requested the department concerned to provide approval for storages in Madurai as presently the copra is being sent to other districts for storage," the officials added.