Food Corporation of India records all time high wheat procurement of 433.44 lakh MT

Madhya Pradesh surpassed Punjab to become No 1 in wheat procurement.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has recorded an all time high wheat procurement of 433.44 lakh MT.

“During the Rabi Marketing Season 2021-22, the Corporation has recorded an all time high wheat procurement of 433.44 lakh MT, recording 11 per cent increase over last year’s procurement,” FCI Executive Director (West Zone) R P Singh said in Mumbai on Wednesday.

“Between April 2020 and November 2021 a record 598.87 lakh MT of foodgrains was allocated out of which 565.47 lakh MT grains were lifted,” Singh said.

The senior FCI official paid tributes to the FCI employees who tackled several challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, including acute shortage of hands, in ensuring timely transportation of food grains.

Speaking about the Direct Benefit Transfer, Singh said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘One Nation, One MSP, One DBT’ vision has become a reality across the country from this year.”

According to him, Direct Online Transfer of MSP to farmers’ bank accounts has been implemented in all procuring states during the current Rabi Marketing Season of 2021-22.

“The empowered farmers are no more dependent upon middlemen and are receiving the payment of their produce directly into their Bank accounts without delay or deductions,” he added.

Speaking about the performance of West Zone, Singh informed that though wheat procurement has been traditionally dominated by Punjab, during 2020-21 season, Madhya Pradesh surpassed the northern state to become No 1 in wheat procurement.

Singh also informed that, beginning Kharif Marketing Season 2021-22, all procurement portals in 24 procuring States has been integrated with a Central Food grains Procurement Portal to share identified Minimum Threshold Parameters such as online registration of farmers, verification of land records, digitization of mandi operations, MSP transfer and CMR/Wheat delivery management.