Bihar exceeds procurement of foodgrains target by Jan-end

The Bihar government has exceeded the target set up for procurement of foodgrains from farmers by by purchasing 3.43 lakh tonnes of grains till January end.

The government had set a target to purchase 3 lakh tonne of grains during the period. A total of 2.75 lakh tonnes of grains was procured by the government by January end in 2011-12 fiscal, state Food Minister Shyam Rajak told PTI. The Nitish Kumar government has set a target to procure 30 lakh tonne of foodgrains by April this year. The process of purchase of produce from the farmers have picked up with the easing of winter when grains are not in good condition due to moisture.

"We will achieve the procurement target within time," Rajak said. The official figures reveal that procurement by the end of January was maximum in Magadh region comprising Gaya, Jehanabad, Arwal, Nawada and Aurangabad with lifting of 68,928 tonne of grains against the target of 42,800 tonne.