Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, praised the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) for partnering with the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) to build a technology-driven procurement system that credits farmers' accounts within 48 hours of purchase. The minister shared his appreciation on X, calling the initiative 'commendable work in the interest of farmers' and extending heartfelt congratulations to the entire NAFED team.

Context

In his post, Chouhan wrote — 'NAFED ने NCCF के साथ मिलकर आधुनिक तकनीक का उपयोग करते हुए किसानों की उपज की खरीद कैसे पारदर्शी तरीके से हो' ['NAFED, working together with NCCF using modern technology, has made transparent procurement of farmers' produce possible'] — and underlined that the arrangement ensures payment reaches the farmer's bank account within a fixed deadline of 48 hours. He described the work as 'praiseworthy' and said he congratulates the full team 'from the heart.'

The post was accompanied by a video, suggesting a formal presentation or field demonstration of the digital procurement workflow was shared alongside the minister's remarks.

Policy Backdrop

The NAFED-NCCF initiative sits within a decade-long arc of agricultural digitisation. The government launched the e-NAM (electronic National Agriculture Market) platform in 2016 to link physical mandis into a unified online trading network for transparent price discovery, reducing the scope for middlemen to distort prices at the farm gate.

From 2019 onward, the PM-KISAN scheme demonstrated that Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanisms could reliably push funds into farmers' accounts at scale. The 48-hour payment mandate now being highlighted by NAFED builds on that DBT infrastructure, extending the same logic of speed and traceability to Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement operations.

Central cooperative agencies including NAFED have been progressively directed to adopt online systems for MSP operations across multiple states, reducing the traditional lag between physical purchase and bank credit that had long been a grievance among small and marginal farmers.

Stakeholders and Impact

Small and marginal farmers stand to benefit most directly from the 48-hour crediting commitment. Delayed payments after MSP procurement have historically forced farmers to seek short-term credit at high interest rates to meet immediate household and input costs, eroding the effective value of the support price.

Cooperative federations such as NAFED and NCCF gain credibility and farmer trust through demonstrably faster, more transparent operations. For the government, a verifiable digital trail of each procurement transaction also strengthens accountability and reduces opportunities for leakage within the procurement chain.

The partnership model — two apex cooperative bodies co-deploying technology rather than working in silos — signals a structural shift in how India's cooperative marketing architecture is being redesigned under the current agricultural policy framework.

What's Next

Attention will turn to the state-level rollout of integrated digital procurement portals that can plug into the NAFED-NCCF framework, particularly in major procurement states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Chouhan's own deep familiarity with Madhya Pradesh — where he served four terms as Chief Minister — may accelerate adoption there.

Any move to codify the 48-hour payment mandate as a binding standard across all central procurement agencies would likely surface in parliamentary discussions during the next budget session, giving the initiative a potential legislative dimension beyond its current operational scope.