India to Procure Wheat Early, Rains Lash Panjab

The Indian govt. has issued instructions to states to start procurement of wheat at minimum support prices from 1 Mar, earlier than usual. A top official said on 26 Feb, that the payments for the procured wheat would be transferred to farmers’ accounts within 48 hours. The govt. statement says the move is prompted due to early sowing in many regions and cool conducive weather which has prompted the govt. to estimate a bumper harvest of the grain. The center estimates this year the wheat stocks to set to be a record 112MT, compared to last year’s 110MT. The timing of wheat procurement must be seen alongside the farmers’ protest on inter-state borders. Early procurement will mean farmers will have to go home, harvest the crop, and sell it. The govt. is using this tactic to reduce the number of farmers at protest sites. Ironically, since 2 Mar, rains and hailstorms have wreaked havoc in Panjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and north Madhya Pradesh. In Panjab, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Nurmahal near Jalandhar was the wettest, receiving 46 mm rain till the morning of 3 Mar, followed by Gurdaspur with 34.8 mm and Ropar with 26 mm. While the wheat is still ripening, the strong gusts of wind at 60-80 kmph are flattening the wheat, maize, and sugarcane crops, rendering them useless for harvest. ‘Damage to crops, mainly wheat and mustard, is spread over 1500K hectares,’ said Punjab Agriculture and Farmer Welfare director Jaswant Singh.