Wheat procurement runs into rough weather

Despite the bumper crop,UP is unlikely to achieve the wheat procurement target during the current Rabi season 2009-10.

Despite the bumper crop,UP is unlikely to achieve the wheat procurement target during the current Rabi season 2009-10. Against the target of 40 lakh MT,the state government and the Food Corporation of India have so far been able to purchase only 11 lakh MT from the farmers against the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 1,100 per quintal fixed by the Centre. During the current season,the wheat production is estimated to be 30 million MT.

The value cut on the MSP for the shriveled wheat imposed by the Centre has dampened the spirit of the farmers. We had taken up the matter with the Union food ministry to roll back the decision of value cut in the MSP,but the Centre declined to consider our contention, Food Commissioner of UP Rajiv Agarwal said. The government had requested the Centre to relax the norms of shriveling by 7 to 20 per cent. The Centre did accede to our request and relaxed the norms from 7 to 15 per cent,but at the same time,it has also imposed value cut for the wheat damaged by the heat wave condition in the last days of March and first half of April, Agarwal said.

For 10 per cent shriveling,the MSP has been reduced to Rs 1,083 and for 10 to 15 per cent it will be Rs 1,050 per quintal. Wheat shriveled up to 15 percent will be treated as Fair and Average Quality and the wheat shriveled by over 20 per cent shall not be purchased at the procurement centres set up by the state, he added.

An official of the food department said the heat wave condition have hit the farmers on three counts the farmers lost the production in terms of weight due to shriveling,then the Centre imposed value cut on MSP and now the farmers are being exploited by the staff at the government procurement centre as the level of shriveling is arbitrarily being determined by the employees.

According to a food department official,the other reason for poor procurement is lifting of the stock limit on wheat. The lifting of the stock limit of wheat has led the farmers to hold back their stock in the hope of a better price.

In Bundelkhand,the procurement is almost negligible as the farmers are taking their produce to Madhya Pradesh,where the government has offered a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal over and above the MSP of Rs 1,100 per quintal.

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