The Centre has directed cooperatives NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at a reduced rate of Rs 50 per kilogram in view of the decline in prices in the wholesale markets. Since July, both NCCF and NAFED have been selling tomatoes at a discounted rate on behalf of the consumer affairs ministry in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar to boost domestic availability and contain price rise.
Initially, the ministry had asked the two cooperatives to sell tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kg and later reduced the price to Rs 80 per kg. Further, the price was cut to Rs 70 per kg.
NCCF and NAFED are procuring tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra for simultaneous disposal in major consumption centres where retails prices have recorded the maximum increase in the last one month. So far, a total of 15 lakh kg of tomatoes have been procured by the two cooperatives which are being continuously disposed of to the retail consumers in major consumption centres in the country.
What is NCCF?
• The National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) is the national level consumer cooperative society having its area of operation in the entire country.
• It is an organisation to promote consumer cooperative movement in the country and aspires to facilitate the voluntary formation and democratic functioning of cooperatives, based on self-reliance and mutual aid for overall economic betterment and financial autonomy.
• The main objectives of the NCCF are to provide supply support to the consumer cooperatives and other distributing agencies for distribution of consumer goods at reasonable and affordable rates besides rendering technical guidance and assistance to the consumer cooperatives.
• It was registered in October 1965.
• The headquarters is situated in New Delhi.
• It operates through a network of 24 branch offices located in different parts of the country.
• NCCF is registered under the Multistate Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 and functions under the ministry of consumer affairs.
What is NAFED?
• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) is an apex organisation of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India.
• It was established in 1958 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act.
• NAFED was founded with the goal to promote the trade of agricultural produce and forest resources across the nation.
• There are over 900 members in NAFED, represented by chief executives of apex level marketing/consumer cooperative/other national level federations, state level marketing/ tribal/commodity federations and primary cooperative marketing/processing societies.
• Agricultural farmers are the main members of NAFED.
• The activities of NAFED add to the betterment of agriculture and post harvest of the produce.
• NAFED procures stocks directly from the farmers in regulated mandis in open auction through the cooperative infrastructure thereby providing them a ready market, fair price and preventing their exploitation at the hands of private traders.
• Also, whenever there is a glut in market due to bumper production when prices tend to crash, NAFED undertakes procurement at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) under the Price Support Scheme in case of 16 notified commodities (pulses, oilseeds, copra, dehusked coconut, cotton) thereby providing remunerative prices to farmers for their produce.
The objectives of the NAFED are:
i) To organise, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce.
ii) Distribution of agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs.
iii) Undertake inter-state, import and export trade, wholesale or retail as the case may be.
iv) To act and assist for technical advice in agricultural production for the promotion and the working of its members, partners, associates and cooperative marketing, processing and supply societies in India.
• NAFED also plays a crucial role in price stabilisation of essential commodities like onion and pulses through creation of national buffer on the direction of the government of India.
