UP govt surpasses its own record with the procurement of 53.80 lakh metric tonnes of wheat in the current season

Amidst the ongoing ‘farmers’ protests in and around the national capital, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has broken its own record in wheat procurement this year by purchasing 53.80 lakh metric tonnes of wheat in the current season.

This is the highest wheat procurement in any given year with the previous high being 52.92 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2018-2019.

https://twitter.com/ians_india/status/1405105171189813253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

According to the reports, more than 12.16 lakh farmers have benefitted from this procurement.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the state government is prepared to procure the wheat till the time farmers come to sell their produce. He has also extended the wheat procurement for the current season till June 22.

Commissioner, Food and Supply Manish Chauhan cites several reasons for the record purchase of wheat this year. He says the increased number of purchase centres, the increased MSP, no fixed time limit and transparency in procurement are some of the reasons that fuelled this year’s record-high purchase of wheat.

For the year 2021-22, the government has increased the MSP on wheat from Rs 1,925 to Rs 1,975. Even the number of procurement centres have increased from 5,000 last year to 6,000 this year.

“Despite the ongoing pandemic induced slowdown, we are still purchasing almost one lakh metric tonnes of wheat every day. On June 14, we bought 1.14 MT of wheats from the farmers,” Chauhan said.

Chauhan also revealed that it is the first time that farmers have received the benefits of Direct Benefit Transfer(DBT). The payment is directly credited into the bank accounts of farmers within 72 hours of purchase. In a bid to get rid of middlemen in wheat procurement, the state government has introduced the electronic point of purchase (e-PoP) machines ensuring transparency in the purchase of wheat.

“For the first time, the farmers have received direct benefits against the sale of their wheat crops without any delay and cuts under the ‘One Nation, One MSP, One DBT’,” Chauhan said.