E-Paper
UP is facing wheat storage problem ahead of Monsoon
UP government official said the problem was expected to get more acute in the days to come as wheat procurement was expected to be 55 lakh MT by the time purchase season ends in 15 days, much above the current storage capacity.
Uttar Pradesh is running short of space to store wheat during the current procurement season, which is due to last two more weeks, people aware of the issue disclosed.
The government has purchased close to 40 lakh MT (metric tonnes) of wheat so far this season at the minimum support price (MSP) and the final procurement is expected to close at around 55 lakh MT, since around 1 lakh MT wheat is being purchased from farmers every day.
“Despite the tough situation arising from the second wave of Covid pandemic, we have already purchased around 40 lakh MT wheat, worth more than ₹7,817 crore from 828,697 farmers. Less than 24 lakh MT wheat was purchased during the corresponding period of the previous year,” a senior official said.
The aggressive purchasing of wheat after record procurement of paddy in winters amid farmer bodies’ protests against the Centre’s three agriculture laws, however, has led to the problem of lack of safe storage space before the monsoon arrives.
“As of now, we are able to overcome the problem because around 15 lakh MT of wheat is lifted from our godowns every month for regular distribution under the National Food Security Mission and free distribution under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana that has been announced for two months. This PDS (public distribution system) off-take of wheat creates space for intake from procurement centres,” the official explained.
He said the problem was expected to get more acute in the days to come as wheat procurement was expected to be 55 lakh MT by the time purchase season ends in 15 days.
Earlier in March this year, UP food commissioner Manish Chauhan had indicated that the state was planning to create extra storage spaces in case it got more wheat than last year by setting temporary sheds at government factories and sugar mill complexes. Last year, the actual purchase of wheat amounted to 35.76 lakh MT against the procurement target of 55 lakh MT.
The procurement started this year from April 1 on the fixed minimum support price (MSP) of ₹1,975 per quintal, an increase of ₹50 per quintal than last year. To keep middlemen out of the procurement process, the government has made registration mandatory for farmers on the portal of the food and civil supplies and also arranged for biometric authentication through e-PoS machines.
