FCI to enhance wheat procurement in eastern states

Food Corporation of India is committed to enhance the procurement of wheat in eastern states, including UP region, and ensure benefit of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to small and marginal farmers.
FCI has made all arrangements to ensure prompt payment to farmers during the current Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) and has fixed a target of procuring 30 lakh MT wheat from Uttar Pradesh region, FCI General Manager D S Chauhan said today.
"To avoid any hardship to farmers because of losses to wheat crop due to unseasonal rains and hailstorm, the Centre has relaxed wheat specification in shriveled grains... So that farmers get full MSP," he added.

MSP for wheat has been fixed at Rs 1,450 per quintal this year, he said after a presentation before Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan at Faizabad.
Chauhan said the overall production of wheat in UP is 350 lakh MT and procurement in central pool during past two years was only 6.82 lakh MT and 6.28 lakh MT, which is just about two per cent of the total production as compared to overall national average of 30 per cent.
He said FCI has put all efforts to enhance the procurement of wheat and during RMS 2015-16, 21 lakh MT of wheat has been procured till date from 3.70 lakh farmers at MSP.

He added that the annual requirement of wheat in UP region is about 48 lakh MT wheat and 32 lakh MT rice and due to low procurement in UP, about 64 lakh MT foodgrains had been inducted by FCI from Punjab and Haryana during 2014-15.
At present, 23 lakh MT wheat and 16 lakh MT rice is available in UP region and it is sufficient for six months PDS requirement, Chauhan said.