According to those familiar with the situation, Uttar Pradesh is running out of storage capacity for wheat during the current procurement season, which is expected to last two weeks.
So far this season, the government has acquired about 40 lakh MT (metric tonnes) of wheat at the minimum support price (MSP), with the ultimate procurement projected to total approximately 55 lakh MT, since 1 lakh MT of wheat is purchased from farmers every day.
“Despite the difficult scenario caused by the second wave of the Covid epidemic, we have already acquired about 40 lakh MT wheat from 828,697 farmers for more than Rs 7,817 crore. During the same period the previous year, less than 24 lakh MT of wheat was purchased,” a top official said.
However, the aggressive purchase of wheat following record paddy procurement in winters amid farmer organizations’ protests against the Centre’s three agriculture legislation has resulted in a shortage of safe storage space until the monsoon arrives.
“For the time being, we are able to solve the difficulty since around 15 lakh MT of wheat is removed from our godowns every month for regular distribution under the National Food Security Mission and free distribution under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, which has been declared for two months. This PDS (public distribution system) off-take of wheat makes room for procurement center intake,” the official added.
He predicted that the situation would worsen in the coming days as wheat procurement was likely to reach 55 lakh MT by the conclusion of the buy season in 15 days.
Earlier this year, UP food commissioner Manish Chauhan stated that the state was planning to build up temporary shelters at government factories and sugar mill complexes in case it received more wheat than the previous year. Last year, actual wheat purchases were 35.76 lakh MT, compared to a procurement target of 55 lakh MT.
The procurement began this year on April 1 with a set minimum support price (MSP) of $1,975 per quintal, a $50 increase over the previous year. To keep intermediaries out of the procurement process, the government has made farmer registration on the food and civil supplies portal essential, as well as provided for biometric authentication using e-PoS devices.
