Q.State the various components of Central Government schemes under post-harvest measures.

Central-government post-harvest support rests on price assurance (MSP), procurement and buffer-stock building, scientific storage/warehousing, and organised marketing (regulated markets and e-NAM).

In the Tamil Nadu HSC Class-11 Economics syllabus, post-harvest measures are studied under agricultural marketing because a large part of a farmer's loss occurs after harvest — through distress sale, poor storage and exploitation by middlemen. The Central Government's schemes address these through the following components:

1. Minimum Support Price (MSP). A guaranteed floor price announced for major crops so that farmers are protected against a sharp fall in market price.
2. Procurement and buffer-stock operations. Agencies such as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) procure foodgrains at MSP, build buffer stocks and supply them through the Public Distribution System (PDS). …