By IANS,
New Delhi : Expecting a rise in wheat procurement to 31.8 million tonnes from last year’s 28.3 million tonnes in this rabi season, the central government Tuesday asked the states to gear up arrangements to ensure the foodgrain does not spoil and farmers receive their dues.
The procurement assessment was made during a meeting of food secretaries of wheat procuring states, under chairmanship of union Food Secretary B.C. Gupta, to review procurement arrangements for the forthcoming rabi marketing season 2012-13.
Among the states, Madhya Pradesh has indicated a record estimate of 6.5 million tonnes procurement for this rabi season, said officials.
The period for procurement of wheat during the 2012-13 season is between April 1 to June 30 for majority of states except Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat where it will start on March 15.
In Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir, the procurement will start from April 15.
Officials said arrangements for wheat procurement discussed during the meeting include number of purchase centres to be opened in each state, minimum support payments to be made through account payee cheques or bank transfers directly to the farmers, quality control measures, and storage and movement of foodgrains.