Despite extending the deadline for wheat procurement by more than a month, the Indore district government only purchased only 20% of the crop it had planned to buy. Before the ban, traders had offered premium prices to export the grain due to increased demand. Madhya Pradesh, which had procured 129 lakh tonne wheat in 2020-21, stealing first place from those who could purchase 127.6 lakh tonnes, had purchased roughly 128.16 lakh tonne wheat last year, according to senior officials.
Farmers not selling their crops at procurement centers was attributed to anaj mandis remaining closed due to the first and second Covid-19 waves in 2020 and 2021, however, the state government was expected to bounce back by purchasing the maximum wheat grain from farmers in the current season.
"This year, over 46 lakh tonnes of wheat might be procured across the state," said Faiz Ahmed, the state's principal secretary for food, civil supplies, and consumer protection.
Until the last date, the Indore administration was able to buy a wheat crop of roughly 64,000 tonnes (May 31). MARKFED Indore division manager Arpit Tiwari stated, "Initially, we had made arrangements, including warehouses, to acquire a 3.5 lakh tonne wheat harvest in Indore, which was then revised to 2.7 lakh tonne, 1.7 lakh tonne, and finally to 90,000 tonnes."
Indore had a record of approximately 51,000 farmers registering with the state government to sell their wheat crop in 2021, he added, but that number had dropped to 37,152 this year. The main cause for the reduction in the number of farmers registering with the government and selling their crops was traders offering higher rates than the MSP of Rs 2,015/quintal for wheat.
According to Kidwai, around 1.8 lakh tonne of grain was being provided monthly to the ration card holders through the public distribution system and as such, around 22 lakh tonne crop was required to meet the demand of a year. “Apart from procuring around 46 lakh tonnes of wheat this year, we have enough stock to easily meet the demand under PDS for a couple of years,” Kidwai said.
According to Kidwai, roughly 1.8 lakh tonnes of grain was distributed monthly through the public distribution system to ration card users, implying that a 22-lakh tonne harvest was required to supply the demand for a year. "Apart from acquiring roughly 46 lakh tonnes of wheat this year, we have ample supply to meet PDS demand for a couple of years," Kidwai said.
