New guidelines to give fillip to procurement

Punjab farmers would be given full minimum support price (MSP) of their harvest and the value cut would not be applied, the state government has said in a press statement issued on Wednesday.

The Centre's decision to relax the quality norms for procurement of wheat in Punjab and the state government's announcement to bear the value cut imposed by the Centre on broken, shrivelled and lusterless grain, will give fillip to the tardy wheat procurement in the state.

The recent unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged wheat crop in Punjab. Also, high moisture content in the crop further led to a tepid response by state and central agencies, resulting in non-purchase of the crop. According to the state agricultural marketing board, out of the total arrival of 2.1 million tonnes of wheat in different mandis of the state till Wednesday, only 814,000 tonnes has been procured.

According to the revised norms, wheat with up to 10 per cent shrivelled grains will be bought at an MSP of Rs 1,450 a quintal. Further, Rs 3.63 a quintal will be cut on six-eight per cent shrivelled grain and Rs 7.25 a quintal on eight-10 per cent.

According to the norms, Procurement of semi-damaged grains up to six per cent are allowed, while damaged not being more than four per cent. The state government also said no farmer would be allowed to suffer due to vagaries of weather and announced the state government would bear the value cut due to broken, shriveled and lusterless grain as announced by the relaxation in uniform norms for procurement of wheat for 2015-16.

Earlier, citing the crisis being faced by farmers due to unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms in the state, the state government wrote a letter to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, seeking relaxation in uniform specifications for procuring wheat on the lines of Haryana.

The Food Corporation of India, along with state government agencies, is targeting to procure 12.5 million tonnes of wheat from Punjab. Last year, the total wheat purchased by different agencies and private traders was about 12 million tonnes. The total area under wheat in Punjab during the current procurement season is over 3.5 million hectares and the anticipated production is about 15 million tonnes.