Madhya Pradesh has so far registered over 1 mln farmers to participate in the procurement drive of key rabi crops--wheat, chana, mustard and masur--produced in 2020-21 (Jul-Jun), an official with the state government said today.
"The registration drive for wheat began late last month and for others this month. Over 90% registrations are only from wheat farmers," the official said. Around 948,900 wheat farmers, 212,288 chana, 67,693 masur cultivators, and 48,014 mustard farmers have registered for the procurement drive. The state aims to procure around 12.5 to 13.0 tn wheat, 390,000 tn mustard, and 137,000 tn masur at minimum support price from registered farmers, the official said.
The government has fixed 1,975 rupees per 100 kg as the minimum support price for wheat for the 2020-21 marketing year beginning April, up from 1,925 rupees last year. Minimum support price for chana and mustard is fixed at 5,100 rupees per 100 kg, while mustard is 4,650 rupees per 100 kg. The two-month-long procurement drive will begin on Mar 15. These targets are fixed for state-run agencies, the official said. Procurement is being carried out earlier than the 2021-22 (Apr-Mar) rabi marketing season.
Madhya Pradesh is among the leading growers of wheat, chana, mustard and masur in the country. The procurement will be carried out as arrivals of these crops start in the spot markets, and supply will begin in earnest once temperatures rise and harvesting gathers pace, traders said. The state has arranged storage space for the procured crops, as well as gunny bags for packaging of the purchased commodities, the official said.
Owing to higher acreage and favourable weather conditions in key growing regions, the output of rabi crops is seen higher on year in the state, the official said.
