Orissa signs MoU with NAFED for market linkage

Bhubaneswar, Dec 20 (UNI) In a bid to develop and link Orissa's agriculture to the national and global market,the government today signed an MoU with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation(NAFED).

The NAFED would now establish market linkages for several agricultural commodities of the state through a major expansion of its activities and engage in commercial procurement of groundnut, maize, onion, sunflower, sesamum and non-basumati aromatic varieties of rice.

NAFED Managing Director Alok Ranjan and Orissa Cooperation Department Secretary Madhur Sharanghi signed the MoU in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Cooperation Minister Surama Padhi and Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy.

The Chief Minister described the MoU as pioneering step for establishing the required market linkages for a number of agricultural commodities.

He said the state government would encourage any company or firm engage in marketing of agricultural commodities to establish supply chains for sourcing their requirements of the agricultural commodities.

The Chief Minister said the farmers of the state would be immensely benefited if proper market linkages would be created for various agricultural commodities.

As per the MoU the NAFED would also take up contract farming on a pilot basis for production of some commodities.NAFED has also agreed to provide market information through the RMC markets for the benefit of the farmers and assist in strengthening the existing infrastructural facilities for the agriculture marketing.

UNI DP SJC SS2205