While the Centre has been continuously reassuring that procurement of food grains at MSP will continue, farmers and experts say that the new recommendations related to revised specifications for procurement under the central pool by Food Corporation of India (FCI) indicate that it wants to leave them “at the mercy of private players”.
A committee of FCI under its chairman and managing director Sanjiv Kumar deliberated the revisiting of uniform specification of food grain procurement on March 11, and recommended revision of uniform specifications of food grains procured under the central pool.
Moisture content
As per this draft, the recommendations for moisture content in wheat grain has been proposed as 12 per cent against the current limit of 14 per cent. Justification given for the same was that wheat is harvested in the peak summer days i.e. April and May, and moisture level at 12 per cent and lower has the advantage of enhanced shelf life of wheat and is in conformity with the scientific preservation. Earlier, wheat purchase with the enhanced moisture levels was allowed by imposing a value cut, but FCI now says that there is no need to allow the same.
Foreign matter
Foreign matter, which was permissible upto 0.75 per cent earlier, has been reduced to 0.50 per cent now. FCI argued that farmers bring their crop to mandis where commission agents get it cleaned by labourers and if the cleaning process is performed properly, it can be reduced.
Also, other conditions that weed seed, which were allowed till 0.4 per cent earlier will be removed now from the uniform specifications. Slightly damaged was also reduced from 4 per cent to 2 per cent now due to introduction of improved varieties of wheat, the prevalence of slightly damaged in the harvested stick has come down.
The limit of shrivelled and broken grain has also been reduced from 6 per cent to 4 per cent as it will improve the merchantability of stocks and increase the hectolitre weight of the stock.
Other food grains like oat, barley and pulses etc. which were earlier upto 2 per cent have been reduced to 0 per cent now. FCI says that agronomic practices of cultivation have improved to an extent that the chances of presence of OFG in wheat stock are lower.
The living infestation has brought down to zero against Rs 2 per quintal cut earlier. Since the FCI argument is that living infestation is found in old stocks, therefore such relaxation must not be allowed during procurement.
The permissible limit of weeviled grain was upto 1 per cent earlier with value cut of Rs 2 per quintal has been reduced to zero on the ground that the possibility of presence of any such grain is very rare and moreover, such grains are found only in old wheat stored for a longer period.
FCI said that often, some quantity of wheat stock is required for export either to fetch good price or on humanitarian grounds and in light of that it is imperative that stock should be of international standards and worthy of export.
FCI has also stated that during its interaction with private players, it was found that hectoliter weight is an important quality parameter while determining the premium stock, in view of which it has been proposed that minimum 75 kg per hectolitre weight may be introduced as a quality specification of premium quality stock.
Similarly in case of paddy, which is another major crop of Punjab, the foreign matter limit has has been reduced from 2 per cent (1 per cent each organic and inorganic) to 1 per cent overall where as damaged, discoloured, shrunken and weeviled from 5 per cent to 3 per cent, immature, shrunken and shrivelled from 5 to 2 per cent and admixture of lower 6 per cent to 5 per cent, and more importantly moisture content from 17 to 16 per cent, citing similar reasons. FCI said that milling period of paddy lasts from 6 to 8 months and sometimes even for one year and in such condition, the stored paddy with high moisture content leads to development of various fungi.
In rice, the broken percentage has been reduced from 25 to 20 per cent and 16 to 12 per cent for raw and parboiled, respectively. Similarly the damage has been reduced from 4 to 3 per cent in raw and 3 to 2 per cent in parboiled.
Similarly the specifications for moisture content, discolouration etc. have been reduced.
FCI has also suggested that state governments get tested the residual toxicity of pesticides used in the field before procurement so that indiscriminate usage of various pesticides could be regularised, and suggested various measures in this regard.
Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta (Dakuanda), said that by issuing such recommendations, “It is clear that government is running from procurement and its promise of continuing the existing MSP falls flat as the government is trying to put salt on our wounds by issuing such recommendations.”
He added: “When FCI is claiming that wheat is procured in peak summer, it should also know how inclement weather conditions play spoilsport during the wheat harvesting season when untimely rains and wind storms create havoc affect crops.”
He said that the government has been adopting one or other measures to run from procurement and they will not let it happen and will intensify their protest further.
An agri expert and senior officer in the Punjab agriculture department, requesting anonymity, said: “India has been exporting food grains, both wheat and rice since ages and even this time, it has exported a huge amount of rice but there is not any quality issue at the farmers’ end. The quality issues arises at the storage end and for that FCI, which stores the grains, is responsible, not farmers.”
“Government is consulting with private players regarding quality of grains, which is is a clear indication that the government wants to leave the farmers at the mercy of private players as far as food grain procurement is concerned,” the expert said, adding that its promise of continuation of existing MSP system is an eyewash.
As per this draft, the recommendations for moisture content in wheat grain has been proposed as 12 per cent against the current limit of 14 per cent. 
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