Bihar Begins Wheat Procurement, Aims for 2 Lakh Metric Tonnes by June 15

On the first day of the wheat procurement process which started in Bihar on Tuesday, 78.436 metric tonnes of wheat was procured from a total of 57 farmers. This process will continue till June 15. The state government has set a target of procuring 2 lakh metric tonnes of wheat this year, out of which 1.5 lakh metric tonnes will be procured by PACS and trade boards, while the remaining 50 thousand metric tonnes of wheat will be procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) directly from the farmers.

Minimum support price fixed at Rs 2425 per quintal

The Government of India has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat this year at Rs 2,425 per quintal, which is Rs 150 more than last year. All the 4,476 PACS and trade boards of the state have got cash credit facility from cooperative banks, due to which farmers will be paid within 48 hours.

District wise purchase status

So far, the highest purchase has been made in Patna district, where 23 out of 233 selected societies participated and purchased a total of 44.250 metric tonnes of wheat. The purchase status in other districts was as follows:

Samastipur: 13 metric tonnes from 11 farmers

Saran: 1.500 metric tonnes

Madhepura: 0.515 metric tonnes

Gaya: 4.100 metric tonnes

Munger: 2.600 metric tonnes

Supaul: 1.500 metric tonnes

Banka: 1.266 metric tonnes

Account not opened in many districts

In many districts including Bhojpur, Buxar, Gopalganj, Jehanabad, Kaimur, Kishanganj, Lakhisarai, Madhubani, Nalanda, Rohtas, Sheikhpura and Shivhar, wheat has not been purchased from any farmer so far.

Procurement process expected to speed up

It is worth noting that out of 4,568 societies, only 57 have completed the procurement process so far. The procurement process is expected to speed up in the coming days. The government is committed to providing farmers a fair price for their produce and is working towards ensuring smooth functioning of procurement centres