E-Paper
Pandemic shadow on procurement: Punjab to cap daily lifting of wheat at 3 lakh tonne
INFRA, MANPOWER CONSTRAINTS: Not more than 65,000 passes to be issued to farmers in the state daily; 15-18 persons to enter a mandi on a given day
The Punjab Mandi Board and the state food and civil supplies department have decided to cap daily lifting of wheat in grain markets and purchase centres at 3 lakh tonne, keeping in view the infrastructural constraints and limited availability of manpower and machinery with the procurement agencies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The operations will be carried out in line with the medical protocol that mandates social distancing and avoiding crowding to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
As planned by the two state government entities, weighing, packing and loading of the produce for storage will take place within 48 hours of the arrival in the mandis.
With this, the authorities are aiming at winding up wheat procurement in 45 days by the first week of June, as maize arrival is expected to begin in the mandis by then.
State agencies have pegged the total wheat arrival at 135 lakh tonne. “We have decided to limit the daily issuance of passes to farmers to 60,000- 65,000 to limit the arrival,” said HS Brar, additional secretary of the mandi board, a subsidiary of the state agriculture department.
The state government on Tuesday started the wheat procurement, which was postponed by a fortnight owing to slow maturing of the crop due to rainfall and fall in temperatures at the ripening stage and the coronavirus outbreak.
“We have done lots of groundwork in the last 15 days but still there are many problems. Earlier, the produce (wheat and paddy) was brought for procurement directly from the farms immediately after the harvest. But this time, we want the farmers to bring dried produce with moisture content within the permissible limit of 12%,” Brar added.
Besides the 1,864 existing mandis, 1,927 temporary procurement stations have been created to stagger the operations.
Also, no cleaning support will be given to farmers in the mandis to avoid crowding.
“We will invite 15-18 farmers to each mandi so that there is no rush or glut. The procurement operation would take place gradually but the farmers and the mandi staff will be saved from any infection. In the past, there have been instances when 8-10 lakh tonne wheat was procured on a single day. Farmers are finding it difficult to adjust to the new system, but the operations will get streamlined by April 20,” said director (food and civil supplies) Anindita Mitra.
