By Sudhir Kumar
The Government today said 195 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of wheat have been procured so far during the ongoing Rabi Marketing Season (RMS), surpassing procurement done in 2022-23. This has largely benefited the farmers. In RMS 2022-23, the procurement was 188 LMT.
MSP outflow of about 41 thousand 148 crore has already been made to about 14.96 lakh farmers during the ongoing wheat procurement operations. Major contribution in the procurement has come from three wheat-procuring States of Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
One of the major factors, contributing to the progressive procurement this year, is the grant of relaxation by the Government in quality specifications of wheat being procured, in view of untimely rains leading to lustre loss. This will reduce the hardship of farmers and check any distressed sales.
The Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ministry said, rice procurement is also progressing smoothly. A quantity of 354 LMT of rice has been procured till now.