In the midst of the second coronavirus surge and the agitation by farmers in opposition to agricultural legal guidelines that has been now on for 5 months, Punjab has surpassed all earlier information in wheat procurement for the rabi season.
Government businesses have procured 132.08 lakh metric tonnes of wheat, 2 lakh metric tonnes greater than the goal set by the state, with greater than 9 lakh farmers receiving over Rs 23,000 crore straight into their financial institution accounts. It was the primary time in Punjab that farmers have been paid straight as an alternative of by arhtiyas or middlemen.
At 34 days, this rabi advertising season, that started on April 10 and ended Thursday, was 12 days shorter than final yr.
Food Corporation of India information present that that is the best wheat procurement in Punjab’s historical past. The quantity was underneath 100 lakh metrict tonnes until 2009-10. At over 9 lakh, the variety of farmers who got here with their grain to mandis this yr can be increased than the determine of 8.8 lakh final yr.
While the procurement was lesser within the Malwa area, the epicentre of the farmers’ agitation, the soar in Doaba and Majha made up for it. In reality, the districts that noticed lesser procurement in comparison with final yr barely outnumbered those who noticed increased.
Incidentally, the upper procurement was regardless of a barely lesser yield. While the climate was largely beneficial, an unusually heat March meant the common was 49 quintals per hectare in comparison with 50.04 per hectare final yr.
Ravi Bhagat, Director, Department of Punjab Food Supply and Consumer Affairs, mentioned direct cost into the accounts was one of many foremost causes for this. “The government has registered farmers on the Anaj Kharid portal and the money was credited into their accounts, not those of arhtiyas… Punjab has also become the first state where the J form that carries the details about the crop a farmer sells to the government is included in the Digilocker. He is not dependent on a middleman for getting the J form.”
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda) chief Jagmohan Singh additionally mentioned that one of many essential causes extra wheat got here to mandis was direct cost of MSP into accounts, which meant farmers went there as an alternative of to flour millers.
A Punjab Mandi Board official mentioned the opposite motive was that farmers sitting on dharna additionally needed to benefit from the MSP (Rs 1,975 per quintal), believing it could not final. According to him, extra wheat additionally landed in authorities mandis as a consequence of lesser non-public gamers available in the market as a consequence of Covid.
One such farmer, Gurdip Singh of village Chak Kalan close to Jagraon in Ludhiana district, mentioned he had sown wheat on 20 acres and bought round 400 quintals for Rs 8 lakh. “I am very happy with this system with money coming directly. I sold my entire crop to government agencies as the MSP was also better this time.”
Eight massive wheat-contributing districts, all in Malwa area, noticed procurement fall this yr, together with Sangrur, Muktsar Sahib, Moga, Mansa, Fazilka, Faridkot, Barnala and Bathinda. However, procurement rose sharply in Doaba area’s Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts; and Majha’s Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran districts.
With round 35 lakh hectares devoted to wheat cultivation, Punjab produces round 17-18 million tonnes wheat yearly, with farmers bringing roughly 75% of it to mandis.