The Center on Wednesday reported 418.47 lakh tonnes of wheat so far in the current marketing year, which began in April.
Wheat registration has been procured since late November 2020 amid protests by farmers across the Delhi border. Farmers’ unions are demanding the repeal of three new farm laws and a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP).
Rabbi Marketing Season (RMS) 2021-22 runs from April to March, but most purchases are completed by June.
As in previous seasons, wheat procurement in RMS 2021-22 will continue in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and MSP in Jammu and Kashmir.
As of June 8, the government had procured 418.47 lakh tonnes of wheat from 373.22 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
About 46 lakh farmers with MSP value of Rs 82,648.38 crore have already benefited from RMS procurement activities, ”the report said.
This year’s purchases are higher than the previous high of 389.92 lakh tonnes achieved in the full 2020-21 marketing year.
The state-owned Food Corporation (FCI) is the nodal agency for the purchase and distribution of food grains.
Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the center provides 5 kg of wheat and rice per person at a highly subsidized rate of Rs 2-3 per kg to about 80 crore people.
