New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) In a bid to curb the shooting prices of essential commodities, NAFED, a national level farmers' cooperative, is launching a new initiative 'farm gate to home gate' (khet se ghar tak) here Friday.

'This initiative envisages procurement of essential commodities directly from the farmers, making those available to the consumers at fair and affordable prices, considerably cheaper than the market price,' said NAFED chairman Bijendar Singh and managing director C.V. Ananda Bose in a statement here.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will formally launch the initiative at a function which will be presided over by Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas.

The new initiative is being launched when India's annual food inflation based on wholesale prices rose to 17.94 percent for the week ending Jan 30.

As per official data released by the commerce and industry ministry Thursday, the annual rise in the index for food articles was 17.56 percent for the week before.

Prices of essential items continued to rise in the country, with vegetables becoming more expensive by 20.93 percent, potatoes by 40.57 percent, pulses by 41.24 percent and fruits by 8.67 percent during the 52-week period.