Uttar Pradesh sets no target for wheat procurement but offers to buy at MSP till June 15

Fearing a backlash from farmers, who are agitating against three contentious farm laws, the Uttar Pradesh Government has decided not to set the target to procure wheat from farmers this year.

“With no target, it is easy for the government to escape the backlash from the opponents and the farmers. This is a clear indication that this time procurement of wheat in UP is likely to go down,” a senior official told this reporter on condition of anonymity.

In 2020-21, the government had purchased 3.55 million tonnes of wheat against the target of 5.5 million tones.  No explanation was given as to why the agriculture department failed to procure the targeted wheat.

The official says: “Probably it is for the first time in many decades the government has set no target of procurement of wheat from the farmers. But the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered that the procurement will start from April 1, and continue till the stock lasts with the farmers”.

Government spokesman said that wheat will be purchased from the farmers at minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,975 per quintal for the 2021-22 seasons, an increase of Rs 50 per quintal than last year.

Against the usual 3,400-3,600 procurement centres across the state the government has almost doubled the number of the wheat procurement centres to 6,000. A food department official said that 6,000 procurement centres will be opened across the state by the Food Department and other purchasing agencies, which is almost double the number of centres opened last year’’.

"Though the government has not fixed any target for wheat procurement, the government has decided that purchase will continue till farmers' stock last. Farmers can sell as much wheat as they want on MSP between April 1 and June 15," the government spokesman said, adding that to keep middlemen out of the procurement process, the government has made registration mandatory for farmers on the portal of the food and civil supplies department.

The government has decided that the entire wheat purchasing will be done through biometric authentication through e-PoS machines in order to keep the middlemen out. The state government will also be geo-tagging the purchase centres and storage warehouses.

“If a farmer is unable to come to the purchasing centre himself, he can nominate a member of his family. The nominated member will have to be mentioned in the registration form. Aadhaar authentication of the nominated member will also be done,” the spokesman said in a release issued last week.