In a major relief for the wheat growers in Gujarat, the State government on Tuesday announced commencement of wheat procurement from April 27.
Purchases will begin on April 27 and has to be completed by May 30. However, the State government has not set any target on the quantity to be procured, but it has asked farmers to register for the process by May 10.
“Wheat procurement will be done through the godowns of State Civil Supplies Corporation. The registration process will be conducted between April 27 and May 10 and the procurement process is to be competed by May 30,” said Ashwani Kumar, Secretary to the Chief Minister, during a briefing. The procured wheat will be stored in 219 godowns of the Civil Supplies Corporation.
Kumar said that so far 29,122 farmers have registered for participation. Gujarat has reported total wheat cultivation on 13.95 lakh hectares for the rabi season ending February 2020, about 73 per cent higher than 8.07 lakh hectares reported last year.
Higher MSP
In its third advanced estimate for 2019-20, the Gujarat government put an estimate of 40.36 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat output, which is up by 67 per cent from 24.07 lt estimated for last year (2018-19). The Centre has fixed the MSP for wheat at ₹1,925 per quintal, ₹85 higher than last year.
“The farmers will be intimated through an SMS about their turn for procurement. They will need to bring their produce as per the time and date intimated to them,” Kumar said, adding that during the entire process, it is required to maintain safety measures such as social distancing, personal hygiene, use of masks and hand sanitisers.
Drive for water storage
The State government has also announced ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan’, a desilting drive for ponds and rivers in the State to enhance the water storage and conservation capacities of the reservoirs.
“The drive will begin immediately and will continue till June 10. This will cover all ponds, checkdams, bandharas, rivers and other types of reservoirs at village and city level. It will have participation from MNREGA workers, local participation and departmental involvement for deepening these reservoirs,” said Kumar, adding that farmers will not require to pay royalty fees to take the soil dug out from the reservoirs for their fields.
The move is aimed at generating employment at rural levels, provide fertile soil to farmers and enhance the State’s reservoir storage capacities before the monsoon sets in.