UP wheat production estimated at 29 million tonnes
Amid bumper wheat estimates at 29 million tonnes, spanning 9.6 million hectares, for the 2010-11 Rabi season, Uttar Pradesh has allowed private bulk purchasers to procure wheat from the farmers.
ITC and other bulk purchasers will be able to procure wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 1,100 per quintal, and compulsorily pay through account payee cheques for transparency.
The state cabinet today approved the 2010-11 wheat procurement policy in this regard.
However, the bulk purchasers would be required to submit an affidavit that they would not sell the wheat to other agencies and utilise it for self consumption.
Uttar Pradesh had disallowed private purchasers from the procurement process in 2007, as it was affecting government procurement, since the former were offering better prices to farmers.
During 2009 and 2008, wheat production in UP stood at 28.5 million tonnes and 25.5 million tonnes respectively, state agriculture director (statistics) Vinod Kumar Singh told Business Standard.
Meanwhile, the government has fixed a target of 4 million tonnes for wheat procurement by government agencies and Food Corporation of India (FCI), of which FCI will procure merely 100,000 tonnes.
A total of 4,406 procurement centres would be set up all over the state, including state food marketing department, Provincial Cooperative Federation, UP Agro, UP Sahkari Sangh, UP State Food Corporation and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED). FCI will set up 48 procurement centres.
Each procurement centre will also have a procurement ceiling of 600 quintals.
While, procurement from big farmers will be conducted through token system, small and medium farmers have been exempt from the token mechanism.
For the benefit of small and medium farmers, procurement process will be reserved for them every Sunday and Wednesday for the entire duration of procurement from April 1 to June 30. UP is India’s largest wheat producer and provides 35 per cent to India’s food basket.
