Bhopal News: Delay – Government Shifted Dates For Procurement Thrice, Wheat Procurement Becomes Bone In The Throat For State

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The delay in procurement has led to the fall in prices of wheat in the market. Hailstorms, rainfall, and strong winds in different districts across the state, which are damaging crops, have caused concern among farmers.

The procurement of wheat has become an uphill task for the state government, which has already postponed the dates for it thrice.

The government shifted the dates for procurement from March 16 to April Now, it may begin from April 10 in four divisions and from April 15 in the rest of the divisions.

The government, however, looks uncertain about beginning the process for procurement.

Although the government is facing a shortage of gunny bags to pack the produce, its main concern is storage. There are hardly any empty warehouses to store it in the state.

The Centre has yet to lift the last year s wheat stock from the state. The warehouses are filled with paddy, soybeans, and moong, besides wheat.

The grains procured at the minimum support price are still lying in the warehouses.

The Centre has yet to lift grains worth Rs 40,000 crore. On the other hand, the state government has yet to receive payment against the already-lifted grains worth Rs 15,000 crore.

The Centre has neither cleared the dues nor lifted wheat from the state, which is causing troubles for the state.

Because the same political party is in power in the state as well as in the centre, no one is addressing the issue.

The Central government has set a target for procuring 78 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from the state this year.

At present, the state has gunny bags to procure only 25 lakh tonnes. The state government does not intend to procure more than 50 lakh metric tonnes of wheat this year, as exceeding this limit might create further complications.

Wheat prices declining for delay in procurement

Wheat production in the state may reach around 350 lakh metric tonnes this year. Because of such huge production, farmers are keen to sell their crops quickly. The government rate for procurement is Rs 2,625 a quintal, but because of the delay, traders are purchasing wheat at lower rates between Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,400 a quintal. The high-quality wheat, which farmers keep away from selling to the government, is fetching up to Rs 2,800 a quintal. Farmers' organisations claim the peasants are incurring financial losses because of the delay.

Patwari writes to PM over delay in procurement

MPCC president Jitu Patwari has dashed off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the delay in wheat procurement.

He said the farmers were suffering because of the conflict between the central and state governments. He said if the government did not arrange for gunny bags soon to procure wheat, he would stage a hunger strike outside the residence of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Bhopal.