Centre agrees to procure 'moong' from Punjab at MSP

PTI

Chandigarh, May 21

The Centre has agreed to implement the price support scheme for the procurement of ‘moong’ (green gram) crop in Punjab, an official spokesperson said on Saturday.

“The government of India has conveyed the state government through a letter, conveying its approval to implement the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for procurement of 4,585 MT of summer ‘moong’ in Punjab for rabi season 2021-22 as per the PSS guidelines, 2018,” the spokesperson said.

The letter further said that the date of procurement will be decided by the state government and the process will be carried out for 90 days.

According to the spokesperson, the Centre’s communiqué said that the central nodal agency should verify the availability of scientific storage space as per to PSS guidelines before commencement of procurement.

The state government will provide a revolving fund equivalent to at least 15 per cent of procurement cost of sanctioned quantity and ensure that the payment is made directly into the bank accounts of the farmers within three days of procurement, the letter read.

The Punjab government has already decided to provide MSP to the farmers for ‘moong’ grown before paddy cultivation and sought support from the Centre.

Summer moong is a crop of 65 days with an expected yield of about five quintals per acre. The MSP (Minimum Support Price) on unpolished ‘moong’ is Rs 7,275 per quintal but usually the market price of the crop is higher.

India imports a substantial quantity of ‘moong’ every year for domestic consumption. In case the state farmers are incentivised this way, the production of ‘moong’ can be enhanced manifold in Punjab, expert say.

The Punjab government had also requested the Centre to purchase the entire quantity of ‘moong’ crop to make the country self-reliant in pulse production.

This year, moong cultivation in Punjab has set a new record with sowing of the crop over 1.25 lakh acres, an increase of around 70,000 acres from the previous season.

According to the data compiled by the state agriculture department on the basis of final field reports received from all the districts, the crop was cultivated over an area of nearly 1.25 lakh acres as compared to 55,000 acres in 2020-21.

In 2019-20, an area of 56,750 acres was covered under the crop, which was higher than 40,750 acres in 2018-19.

The data also showed that Bathinda district led the state in sowing moong over 31,072 acres, followed by Mansa 25,000 acres, Moga 12,675 acres, Sri Muktsar Sahib 11,975 acres and Ludhiana 10,750 acres.