Moisture in grain delays wheat procurement

Amritsar, April 20

With the rain slowing the pace of wheat harvesting, the grain markets in the district witnessed an arrival of 4,557 metric tonnes (MT) of crop here on Saturday. District mandi officials stated that a total of 8,127 MT yield has reached the markets so far.

The officials stated that of the total arrival, around 4,500 MT of wheat has been procured so far. With the government agencies procuring nearly 55 per cent of the wheat crop, the officials stated that more moisture in grains is causing a delay in procurement of the crop.

Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori who visited agricultural fields and Bhagtanwala grain market here on Saturday to assess the impact of the rain on wheat harvesting and procurement of wheat. Speaking on the occasion, the DC instructed the officials to ensure that farmers face no problem provided they bring the grains which have moisture content within the permissible limits.

He asked the officials to ensure that wheat is procured on the same day and farmers need not stay in the market at night if their crop is procured on the same day. The Deputy Commissioner said so far wheat has arrived in only 18 out of the total 57 grain markets in the district.

He said the pace of harvesting would further increase in the coming days. The DC asked the mandi board officials to make ample arrangements for farmers like shade, clean drinking water, urinals and other basic facilities. The DC said all Sub-Divisional Magistrates have been asked to visit grain markets and agricultural fields to ensure that farmers do not have to face any problem.

Agriculture officials said the rain has not only increased the moisture content in grains but also made the soil wet which is not conducive for using heavy combine harvesters for the harvesting of wheat crop.