Madhya Pradesh Achieves Wheat Procurement of 59 Lakh Quintals with Target of 7.8 MT
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Bhopal, April 18 (NationPress) The procurement of wheat in Madhya Pradesh has significantly accelerated this season, as the state government has enhanced its arrangements to manage increased arrivals and facilitate smooth purchasing at the Minimum Support Price. This announcement was made by the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection Minister, Govind Singh Rajput, on Saturday.
According to Rajput, the government has raised the daily slot booking capacity at procurement centers from 1,000 quintals to 1,500 quintals.
“This adjustment aims to minimize congestion and allow more farmers to sell their produce promptly,” Rajput stated.
The procurement process is ongoing on all official working days across 3,171 centers established throughout the state. Essential facilities such as shaded seating areas, drinking water, weighing machines, stitching units, internet access, and quality-testing equipment have been made available to farmers.
Wheat is currently being procured at Rs 2,625 per quintal, which includes the Minimum Support Price of Rs 2,585 per quintal along with a state bonus of Rs 40 per quintal.
Rajput further mentioned that sufficient gunny bags and storage solutions have been arranged, utilizing a combination of jute and polypropylene/high-density polyethylene bags for secure storage.
To date, 5,948,980 quintals of wheat have been procured from 136,237 farmers, with payments totaling Rs 575.86 crore being directly credited to farmers’ bank accounts.
Additionally, 461,271 farmers have reserved slots to sell 19,692,550 quintals of wheat, with the slot booking option remaining available until April 30.
Rajput mentioned the use of satellite-based verification to identify inconsistencies in land records. Slot bookings are limited to affected land parcels, while eligible farmers can proceed without interruption.
He also highlighted that a record 1,904,000 farmers have registered this season, which is approximately 360,000 more than the previous year.
“Despite facing various challenges, we aim for a procurement target of 7.8 million metric tonnes this year to protect farmers’ interests,” Rajput concluded.