Wheat Procurement from farmers was at an all-time high as the central government procured a total of 382 lakh metric tonnes thus surpassing the record of 381.48 lakh metric tonnes set in 2012-13, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution.
Another aspect of it is that it has been achieved when for large parts of the past few months the country was in lockdown and several farmers had to face.
An all-out effort
While the usual date for commencement is April 1 but it was extended to 15 April this year due to lockdown but still there was a record procurement due to the following reasons
- Special efforts made by government agencies led by the Food Corporation of India to procure wheat safely and swiftly.
- The number of purchasing centers was increased from 14,838 to 21,689 this year which helped to reduce footfalls in mandis and thus sale and purchase were done with social distancing norms.
- The use of computerized token system also helped in avoiding overcrowding in mandis by allowing on a specific number of people in the mandis
- The area was regularly sanitised and dumping ground for each farmer was assigned so that social distancing is followed.
These measures made sure that none of these procurement areas became a COVID hotspot which would’ve made the process very difficult.
Madhya Pradesh the biggest contributor, Punjab second
This year Madhya Pradesh was the biggest contributor of wheat with 129 Lakh Metric tonnes while Punjab was close behind in second with 127 Lakh Metric Tonnes.
The government claims that over 42 lakh farmers have benefited from the scheme with over Rs. 73,500 crores having been given to them under the Minimum Support Price program.
Telangana tops paddy cultivation
The government also informed that during the same period a total of 119 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was also acquired with Telangana the biggest contributor at 64 lakh metric tonnes and Andhra Pradesh, the second-biggest contributors at 31 lakh metric tonnes.
The FCI says that this additional procurement means that India can provide adequate food security to its people in the coming months.
