Wheat procurement: FCI to credit payment directly to farmers’ bank accounts

Ruchika M. Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4

Food Corporation of India has issued directions that it will go in for direct payment to farmers’ bank account for the wheat crop that will come in the mandis next month.

The practice as of now is to credit the payment to the agents, who in turn transfer it in the accounts of farmers.

The corporation will be procuring 130 lakh metric tonnes of wheat in this year, and over Rs 24,000 crore is to be paid for the farmers for this.

A letter to this effect has been sent by the FCI to the department of Food and Supplies, Punjab, today. The letter also says that information of the land records of farmers is a must for this procurement season.

Though the government rationale behind demanding the details of land records is to account for each grain procured by the Government of India, and ensure that no wheat from outside the state is purchased on the Minimum Support Price, farmers and commission agents say that it is not practical for a state like Punjab, as almost 40 per cent of land has been leased out by owners to other farmers.

They maintain that this is another assault on the state, which is leading the charge in the protest against the Centre on the three farm laws.

Talking to The Tribune, Vijay Kalra, vice chairman of Federation of Arhtiya Association of Punjab, says these steps are being taken by the Centre to punish the state’s farmers and arhtiyas for the farmers stir on the borders of Delhi, against the three farm laws.

“No one in Punjab will be uploading the details of the land ownership. More than 40 per cent of land, including lands owned by NRIs, is leased out. Land owners not tilling land, but giving their ownership will mean that the MSP goes to the owner, not cultivator. We have no option but to go for a strike in mandis from April 1. When the procurement season starts, there will be no labour to lift the grains and no arhtiyas to help in procurement. We will join the farmers and stage sit-in dharnas in mandis,” he said.