Madhya Pradesh reopens wheat procurement window to help rain-hit farmers

The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to reopen the registration window for wheat procurement for three days from March 22 after sudden unseasonal rain widely damaged standing crops in the state.

The initial deadline for registration was February 28, which was extended till March 5.

The state government also announced a financial aid of Rs 32,000 per hectare and early crop insurance payment in the event of 50 per cent crop loss.

Reopening the procurement window will give the farmers, who had missed out on the first instance, another opportunity to sell their wheat through official procurement channels at the pre-fixed minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,125 per quintal.

The move is also meant to support the market where prices have dropped below MSP leading to unrest among growers.

Wheat crops in Neemuch, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Khargone, Datia, Satna, and Vidisha districts have been badly impacted by the rain.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the affected villages in Vidisha and directed officials to assess the damage caused to horticulture crops so that affected cultivators could be compensated, news agency PTI reported.

In case of loss of livestock, those affected would get Rs 37,500 per head for cattle, Rs 20,000 for heifers, Rs 4,000 for sheep and goats, and Rs 100 per unit for cocks and hens that perished, said government officials. Compensation will also be paid for damage caused to houses, he said.

Chouhan said the date of loan recovery would be extended and interest incurred on farm loans would be paid by the government. Loan at 0 per cent interest rate would be provided to them till the next harvest.

He said marriage of the affected farmers’ daughters would be done under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana, which has a provision to provide an aid of Rs 56,000 to the eligible family.

Madhya Pradesh is among the main states that have suffered widespread damage to the standing wheat, chana, and mustard crops due to recent bouts of unseasonal rain.

Last year, the state had first targeted to purchase around 7 million tonnes (mt) of wheat while the actual procurement was around 4.6 mt.

Wheat prices in several markets of MP have dropped below the MSP of Rs 2,125 per quintal from the highs of over Rs 3,200 a quintal in a span of less than three months due to the Centre’s decision to liquidate 5 mt from its stocks to cool down prices.