Wheat purchase kicks-off in Haryana today
As per the estimates of agriculture department wheat has been sown in an area of 24.63 lakh hectares and it is likely production would be about 116.24 lakh metric tonne (MT).
The food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department of Haryana will on Tuesday start procurement of wheat as part of rabi marketing season 2025-26 at 415 purchase centres in the state, including 23 in Karnal.
As per the estimates of agriculture department wheat has been sown in an area of 24.63 lakh hectares and it is likely production would be about 116.24 lakh metric tonne (MT).
Out of this, Haryana has set the target to procure 75 lakh MT wheat at the minimum support price (MSP) fixed at ₹2,425 per quintal.
As part of the season, procurement for barley and gram will also start from April 1 at 25 and 11 centres respectively, while the purchase of sunflower will begin from June 1 at 17 places.
Earlier, the procurement of mustard is underway at 116 mandis since March 15 and lentils since March 20 at 7 centres.
Apart from wheat, barley will be purchased at an MSP of ₹1,980 per quintal, gram at ₹5,650 per quintal, lentil at ₹6,700 per quintal, mustard at ₹5,950 per quintal and sunflower at ₹7,280 per quintal.
Officials said that 30% of these rabi crops are to be procured by the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department, 40% by HAFED, 20% by Haryana State Warehousing Corporation and 10% by Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Expecting a bumper production of wheat this time, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini last week chaired a meeting of officials of four departments involved in the procurement process and instructed them to complete the necessary arrangements in time so that farmers do not face any problem in selling crops in mandis.
On orders of the department, a standing grievance redressal committee has been constituted for each mandi under the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) as its in-charge and deputy commissioner as overall in-charge of all procurement related activities in the district.
Haryana ranks second in wheat production in the country and contributes about 25% of the wheat to the central pool.
During a visit to the new grain market on NH-44 in Karnal, officials said that all arrangements are in place to ensure smooth purchase and apart from the arrival of the crop, lifting will be done at the earliest.
All facilities like water, toilet, canteen, shade and other requirements have been completed for farmers and labourers, Karnal mandi supervisor Satbir Singh said.
Meanwhile, Sirsa MP and general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), Kumari Selja said that though, the wheat procurement is scheduled to begin from April 1, but there has been no preparation yet.
“Tenders for gunny bags and wheat lifting have not been issued, and in the markets, there are no proper arrangements for drinking water, and the streetlights are not working. The government has been making announcements, but nothing is visible on the ground,” she said in a statement.
Selja further said that the state government should take strict steps in this direction and focus on the convenience of farmers.