Wheat fails quality test, procurement lags across Punjab

Wheat procurement has been tardy across several mandis in Punjab as rain-affected and shrivelled grains are failing to meet quality specifications, leaving farmers struggling to sell their produce.

Satnam Singh, a farmer from Quila Bharian village in Sangrur, said he had been waiting in a mandi for six days with 15 trolleys of wheat harvested by him and his uncle. “I have been told the grains are shrivelled and do not meet Food Corporation of India norms. It is not our fault that the crop was damaged due to unusually high temperature in the last week of February. Why can’t the Centre relax the specifications, as it did for Rajasthan?” he said.

Similar complaints have emerged from several rain-affected districts, where procurement agencies are refusing to purchase wheat that does not meet norms related to moisture content, lustre, grain size and discolouration. Farmers say their “harvest of hope” is not finding buyers at the MSP (Rs 2,585 per quintal).

In Deharka village of Jagraon, farmer Jagtar Singh said his crop had remained loaded in tractor-trailers for three days. “Wheat is not being purchased till the specifications are relaxed. I am disillusioned at the lack of timely relief,” he said.

In Khanna, Harbans Singh Rosha, president of the Arhtiya Association, said moisture levels were initially high, but were now declining due to dry weather and procurement had begun picking up.

Arrivals in mandis have crossed 1 lakh metric tonne (LMT) a day, but procurement remains low. Yesterday, only 3,651.3 MT wheat was purchased, while the figure went up to 12,965.8 MT today. In all, 1.67 LMT wheat arrived in the mandis today.

The total wheat arrivals till date stand at 4.01 LMT, of which only 80,827.20 MT has been procured. The total procurement is just 20 per cent of the arrivals. Government officials, however, insist that the procurement has improved after instructions were issued to the field staff of procurement agencies to buy grains that meet specifications.

Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has slammed the Centre and the Punjab Government for tardy purchase of wheat over grain specifications. Farmers were being unnecessarily harassed, said SKM leader Prem Singh Bhangu. Both governments were watching the situation silently with an intent to give handle to private players to purchase the produce below MSP, he added.

Fazilka: Resentment is brewing among farmers over the delay in wheat procurement in Fazilka district. Although the procurement process was formally inaugurated on Tuesday at the local grain market, regular procurement by the government agencies has yet to begin. The authorities are awaiting directions from the Centre regarding relaxation in procurement norms before initiating large-scale purchases.

Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has slammed the Centre and the Punjab Government for tardy purchase of wheat over grain specifications. Farmers were being unnecessarily harassed, said SKM leader Prem Singh Bhangu. Both governments were watching the situation silently with an intent to give handle to private players to purchase the produce below MSP, he added.