Punjab working out mechanism to procure wheat from farmers' doorsteps

Chandigarh, Apr 3 () The Punjab government is working out a mechanism for procuring wheat from the doorsteps of farmers to check overcrowding in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The state government has already postponed wheat procurement, which is likely to start from April 15.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday asked the state agriculture and food departments to work out ways to procure wheat grain from within the villages that are located more than one to two kilometers from the mandis, to check overcrowding during the Rabi season in view of Covid-19 restrictions. Reviewing the harvesting and marketing arrangements through a video conference with officials of these departments, the chief minister directed them to minimise the exposure of the farmers, an official statement said here.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also approved the state government's request for the release of Rs 22,936 crore against cash credit limit for April 2020, it said.

On the issue of procurement, while an Uber-type system of pooling farmers to the distant mandis, on the lines of the suggestion made by the Prime Minister, could be considered, the chief minister said he was open to accepting the proposal of the Chief Secretary to arrange for doorstep procurement of grain if comprehensive modalities can be worked out to ensure feasibility.

While around 50 per cent of the villages in the state are located in close proximity to the mandis and curfew passes could be issued to the farmers to go there in small batches at a time, for the villages in distant areas, the Chief Secretary suggested sending officials to handle the procurement.

Arhtiyas, who currently undertake bagging of the grain in the mandis, could be entrusted with the task of handling it in the villages itself, he added. The chief minister asked the chief secretary to submit a detailed proposal so that a final decision in this regard could be taken in the next couple of days.

He also directed Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar to get the rules amended to provide for payment to farmers through arhtiyas (commission agents).

The chief minister also directed to increase the number of purchase centres and total procurement days to ensure that farmers do not overcrowd the mandis.

He said the arrangements will again be reviewed in the cabinet meeting scheduled on Saturday.

Agriculture Secretary Vishwajit Khanna said incentives for staggered marketing, which the state government had already suggested to the Centre, would go a long way in checking crowds at the mandis and purchase centres, as that would encourage farmers to delay bringing in their produce.

Updating the chief minister about the other logistics being put in place for the season, Khanna said in case the West Bengal government, which had ordered closure of jute mills till April 6, does not open the same, the shortage of bales in Punjab would be met through PP bags, which are currently under production.

Of the five lakh bales needed, 2.5 lakh have been received so far, he added.

All arrangements are in place for sanitisation and distribution of masks to procurement agency staff and farmers (through arhtiyas), said Khanna, adding that segregation and marking was being done at the mandis for social distancing.

The bales would also be kept at a distance, he said, adding that during peak season, stocks would be accepted only from farmers carrying tokens issued by the administration/police. CHS VSD ABMABM