Govt procures 30% more wheat from farmers than last year

ACTIVISTS SAY NOW THE GOVT OUGHT TO EXPAND THE PDS TO COVER MORE BENEFICIARIES

NEW DELHI: The government has procured 36.6 million tonne of wheat so far in the current season, which is nearly 30% more than the quantity bought from farmers during the corresponding period last year, food ministry data shows. This trend suggests that foodgrain stocks are poised to be more than what is required for subsidised distribution among the poor through the public distribution system.

The government’s procurement operations have covered nearly 3.7 million farmers, who have been paid a total minimum support price (MSP) of ₹72,406 crore, the government figures show. Procurement operations refer to the state-run food agencies’ buying of farm produce at federally fixed floor prices.

Procurement of rabi, or winter-sown, produce opened on 1 with the government setting a target of buying 42.7 million tonne of wheat during the current season to be held in state-owned granaries. The wheat procurement target is about 9.5% higher than quantity procured during the last rabi season. In a normal year, nearly 25-260 million tonne of wheat is required for PDS. In 2020, 10 million tonne was additionally given for free under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to alleviate distress caused by the pandemic.

Nearly 800 million people qualify for subsidised foodgrains under the PDS, who are also being given additional free grains of 5 kg per person under the PMGKAY.

Wheat procurement is still under way in states such as Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. To be sure, wheat production is projected to be a record 109.2 million tonne during 2021-22, according to agriculture’s ministry second of the four quarterly advance estimates issued in February. The government has also procured about 74.2 million tonne of paddy in the current season.

Given the increasing levels of procurement, activists say the government ought to expand the PDS to cover more beneficiaries.

“The government is successively procuring more wheat. Population has increased since the National Food Security Act was passed in 2013, which made 67% of the population eligible for PDS grains. We therefore want a universalised PDS,” said Aysha, a Right to Food activist, who goes by one name.