The unseasonal rain has affected the wheat procurement process this season. The reason of worry is that only 636.90 metric ton (mt) of wheat has been collected so far from Udham Singh Nagar till April 22 while as the target is 1.35 lakh metric tonne (mt). Out of 636.90 mt of wheat collected till April 22, the food and civil supply department has procured 34.60 mt while 602.30 mt of wheat has been procured by the cooperative department, said Vipin Kumar, district supply officer, Udham Singh Nagar. Wheat is being purchased from the farmers at Rs1450 per quintal, he added.
Better prices being offered by the wheat traders in the open market seems one of the major factors behind poor wheat collection at the Government-run procurement centres. Following the comparatively low production of wheat this Rabi season, the prices of good quality wheat has gone up to Rs1,600 per quintal in the open market, while the minimum support price being offered by the Government this season is Rs1,450 per quintal. Therefore, the farmers are rushing towards the open markets to dispose off their produce. In all, 134 wheat procurement centres have been set up in different parts of Udham Singh Nagar this year.
Out of them, the State food and supply departmenthas set up nine wheat procurement centres while as the cooperative department has set up 98 centres. As many as 27 wheat procurement centres have been put up by some other departments across this Terai district of Uttarakhand, the Udham Singh Nagar district administration officials said.
However, with the farmers preferring to dispose off their produce in the open markets for better returns, the Government-run wheat procurement centres even in this Terai belt of Uttarakhand look deserted. It is pertinent to mention here that Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital and Champawat districts are the major wheat producing districts in Kumaon division. The volume of wheat procurement is reported to be negligible at the wheat procurement centres in Nainital and Champawat districts so far due to dip in production and better prices being offered in the open markets.