Procurement to rise 10% in Haryana

Wheat procurement from Haryana is expected to increase by 10-20 per cent this season on timely sowing, quick maturing and early harvesting. While 5 million tonnes of wheat were procured from the state last year, the buying is expected to be between 5.5-6 million tonnes this year.

Apart from the sowing and harvesting factors, a major reason for the increased procurement is the rise in the area under wheat cultivation.

According to sources in the department of agriculture, about 20,000 hectares have been added this year under wheat. The total area under wheat this season, thus, was 2.482 million hectares as compared to 2.462 million hectares last year. In case of record output in the state this year, the availability of open plinths under public-private partnership would help for storing the grain.

According to sources in the Food Corporation of India (FCI), a surge in procurement was anticipated. So, the three-year guarantee scheme was floated last year by FCI where private firms were assigned to create open plinths as per the specifications in return for an assured monthly rent of Rs 0.50 per quintal.

As a result, an additional storage space of 1 million tonnes has been created in the state. As the godowns were empty last year, there was no dearth of space for storage. But, this year, the godowns are already full, so the open plinths will come in handy.