Haryana stops wheat procurement in 18 grain markets

More than 10,000 farmers from neighbouring states like UP have also registered on the Haryana portal to sell their wheat crop.

Haryana will produce an estimated 120 lakh metric tonnes of wheat this year out of which only 80 Lakh metric tonnes will be procured under MSP. The MSP per quintal this year is being paid at Rs 1,975 after an increase of Rs 50 per quintal by the union government. Following the enforcement of Covid-19 SOPs, the farmers were advised to bring their crops only when they receive SMS on their registered mobile phone numbers. However, many farmers started bringing their crop to the grain markets without waiting for their turn. This resulted in a mess and the authorities were compelled to stop procurement in 18 different grain markets located in seven districts including Yamuna Nagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala, Kaithal, Sonipat and Panipat. The concerned APMC officials have been instructed not to issue gate passes to the farmers. The State Government has urged the farmers to bring their crops to their respective procurement centres only after receiving the SMS. The farmers have also been given a choice to reschedule bringing the crop to the market.