Doorstep procurement of wheat from next week likely

The state government approved its recent wheat procurement policy on April 11 this year and fixed the rate at ₹2,125 per quintal.

To expedite wheat procurement, the government has decided to send its teams to farmers’ doorsteps in villages instead.

An official said the government was planning to press mobile vans into service to ensure maximum purchase of wheat from next week (For representation)

Regional marketing officer Sanjeev Kumar, confirming the development, said the government was planning to press mobile vans into service to ensure maximum purchase of wheat from next week. Kumar added harvesting was yet to gain momentum in the region, and the move was taken as many farmers had been refraining from going to government-owned procurement centres as they were being approached by private players.

It may be noted that the state government approved its recent wheat procurement policy on April 11 this year and fixed the rate at ₹2,125 per quintal. After announcement of the policy, 137 wheat procurement centres were established in Gorakhpur district which procured 627 metric tons of the crop so far.

Officials said private players were purchasing wheat at the rate fixed by the state government under the open market system. Thus, farmers were not ready to bear the carrier charges to go to the government procurement centres.

Unseasonal rains this year have reportedly brought down the wheat yield by 20 per cent. Officials said they were urging registered farmers who had sold their paddy crops to the government to do the same with their wheat produce.