Wheat procurement through the central pool is underway in Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2022-23 in states/UTs like as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, benefiting 17.50 lakh farmers thus far and many more in the coming days. Wheat in the amount of 184.58 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) has been procured at an MSP of Rs.37,192.07 crore.
Similarly, paddy procurement under the central pool is proceeding successfully in various procuring states/UTs during the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2021-22. A total of 810.05 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy has been procured as on 29.05.2022, comprising 754.69 LMT of kharif crop and 55.37 LMT of rabi crop. With an MSP value of Rs.1,58,770.64 crore, the paddy procurement has helped 117.05 lakh farmers.
Thousands of farmers have also benefited from private players' aggressive buying for export reasons in the current marketing season, which has resulted in a decrease in the government's wheat procurement compared to previous year. Farmers have clearly been selling wheat to private parties at greater prices, which has benefited them greatly. Furthermore, wheat procurement is down due to a decrease in wheat yield due to a heat wave in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and other regions of the nation in March and April.
The Centre had already urged wheat-producing states and Union Territories with procurement closing dates expiring early to extend the process till May 31, 2022 or so, in yet another excellent gesture that will assist lakhs of farmers throughout the nation. Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir were given till May 31 to procure wheat. In a similar vein, the Rajasthan government has been given till June 10 to procure the grain, while Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh have until June 25 to do so. Wheat procurement will last through June 30 in Uttarakhand and until July 15 in Bihar.
The Ministry of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs has asked the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to continue purchasing wheat through the central pool. State governments and Union Territories have also asked for the procurement process to be continued, hence the decision was made. The continued procurement of wheat and paddy is expected to increase India's excess grain availability.
The rabi marketing year extends from April to March, however the majority of the procurement is completed by June each year. During the previous rabi marketing season, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other state agencies procured an all-time high of 433.44 lakh tones of wheat at the minimum support price to satisfy the demand under the public distribution system (PDS) and other welfare schemes.
The government's procurement policy for food grains has broad objectives, including assuring MSP to farmers and providing food grains to the poor at affordable costs. It also contributes to the country's overall food security by ensuring efficient market intervention to keep prices in control.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the Government of India's key central agency, but several state agencies also procure wheat and paddy under the price support scheme. Furthermore, state government agencies procure coarse grains for the central pool in accordance with directions given by the Government of India from time to time. The procurement is carried out primarily to guarantee that farmers receive fair prices, which also serves as an incentive to improve productivity.
The Government of India releases the minimum support prices (MSP) for procurement during each rabi and kharif crop season before harvest, based on the recommendations of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Other considerations addressed by the government in determining the MSP include the cost of various agricultural inputs and the fair margin for farmers for their output.
