Bhopal: Farmers take less interest in selling wheat to government

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The farmers seem to be taking less interest in selling wheat to the government on minimum support price (MSP).

As many as 19.81 lakh farmers, from whom the government will procure wheat, were registered, but the number has reached only 16 lakh this year, although registration was done twice. The state government began to procure wheat from Saturday.

On the one hand, the government is procuring wheat for Rs 2,125 a quintal. On the other hand, the farmers are getting Rs 2,500 a quintal in the market.

So, they are not focusing on selling wheat in Mandis. Forty-six lakh metric tonnes of wheat were procured in the state last year.

Initially, the government expected that the same amount of wheat as was purchased last year would be procured this year. But the expectations have gone up after the rain.

The unseasonal rain has taken the polish off wheat. At several places, the produce may have developed black spots, so the traders are unlikely to buy wheat at higher rates.

Consequently, the farmers will be forced to go to Samitis to sell their produce at MSP.

The food and civil supplies department says the amount of procurement of wheat may go up to 80/90 lakh metric tonnes. In 2021, when Mandis were closed because of covid-19 pandemic, the government procured 128 lakh metric tonnes of wheat. Similarly, in 2020, 128 metric tonnes of wheat were procured.

A senior officer said Registration was linked with Aadhar Card. Satellite mapping was also done, so that there might not be any forgery. Now, only genuine farmers can register themselves for selling their produce.