FCI orders immediate payment of wheat bonus

The FCI release claimed that as a result of this measure, there was a “virtual absence” of private trade from the wheat purchase operations in Patiala, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ludhiana districts. Most of the farmers prefer selling their wheat produce to state agencies, it said.

Senior FCI regional manager Sarvesh Kaushal felt there would a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in wheat productivity in these districts as compared to last year due to unfavourable weather during the crop season. The Corporation is therefore keeping its fingerscrossed, hoping to achieving the wheat procurement target of 70 lakh tonnes during the marketing season.

In Patiala, FCI regional manager D K Dhawan disclosed here today that the Central agency had been allotted 11 procurement centres in the district and had procured 21,795 tonnes of wheat which made up 43 per cent of the total arrivals.