Hunt for wheathouse

Amid the search process,the state government has also urged the Centre to lift the rotting wheat and make space for the new crop.

Experts say Punjab has just about 10 days to ready itself for the bumper crop and in case the movement of grain is not speeded up,farmers could face a tough procurement season.

The godowns are at present packed to capacity with about 60 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and about 40 lakh metric tonnes of paddy.

Figures provided by the food supply department show that 12,500 tonne wheat of 2007 and around 11.39 lakh tonne wheat of 2008 harvest are parked in the godowns.

Punjab can store about 100 lakh tonnes of crop in a season. This space is only for paddy and fertilisers. Wheat has always been stored in open spaces as it is supposed to move out of state as soon as possible.

Dr P S Rangi,consultant,Punjab Farmers Commission,explains,Punjab should have redefined its role after the movement of grain slowed down over the last few years. The slowdown began around 2001 and what was being seen as a mere occurrence of a year or two has now come to stay. While Punjab did develop an effective procurement system,it did not give much thought to storage as it was a mere transit state where the grain was supposed to lie for at the most five months.

Dr Rangi adds,The idea was that the foodgrain should be stored at its destination. The states where the grain is needed should maintain storage places. Now with the import of wheat allowed till March 31,southern states have stopped buying wheat from Punjab and Haryana which is costly. The economic cost of the grain to Food Corporation of India FCI is about Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,500 per quintal while southern states are importing wheat at Rs 900 per quintal. The cost of wheat in Punjab and Haryana at present is much higher than the international food prices the reason why the Minister for Agriculture is not ready to export wheat.

Talking about the production trend in the state,Balwinder Singh Sidhu,Director,Agriculture said,The weather has been conducive,there has been no pest attack and the government has distributed a lot of inputs like zinc to the farmers. As a result of all this,we expect at least 157 lakh tonnes of wheat this year while there is all probability that we will overshoot this mark too.

Punjab has about 35.21 lakh hectares of area under wheat while last year the figure stood at 35.38 lakh hectares. The state contributes nearly 90 per cent of its wheat to the Central pool and this year it is expected to sell at least 125 lakh tonnes of wheat to the Centre which needs to build up its stock to provide grains under the Food Security Bill which is on the verge of clearance.

The Centre should pull up its socks and clear our godowns. Punjab has produced the grain for the Centre and not for itself,hence the Centre should shift the stocks, says Ajmer Singh Lakhowal,chairman,Punjab Mandi Board.

Lakhowal adds,We will ensure that there is no problem in wheat procurement. The grain will be lifted the moment its arrives in the mandis,the payment made in next 48 hours and the FCI has assured us that they will move the grain from the mandis and temporary places of storage within 72 hours. The FCI should keep its word,failing which there could be a major problem in Punjab. At the same time,the Punjab government is also planning to set up silos so that some issues of wheat storage could be resolved.