48 wheat procurement centres established in Multan div

MULTAN: Commissioner Shanul Haq Saturday said the divisional administration has set up 48 wheat procurement centres in Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal and Vehari.

Addressing a meeting held to review wheat procurement arrangements, the commissioner said each wheat procurement centre would issue 500 bags to each grower.

He said wheat bag quota can be increased according to demand and all four districts would have to procure 6,84,517 metric ton of wheat and the government has removed the condition of producing Girdawari records before selling wheat.

The food department would have to procure wheat at Rs 1,400 per forty kilogram. The department would have to pay Rs 9 per 100 kilogram delivery fee to growers, he said.

He also ordered revenue staff to remain online on duties for wheat procurement. The government would have to procure each seed of grain from growers. With harvesting of wheat crop is about to commence in the next few days in the key grain growing districts and Multan, but farmers are worried a lot fearing loss due to repeated police interventions in the name of ongoing lockdown.

“My crop will be ready for harvesting in the next 9-10 days, if the weather is clear. But I am nervous about how I will harvest it. If the lockdown continues, I do not know how anyone can employ combine harvesters or even manual labour in the field?

The social distance is hard to intact in harvesting", said a farmer named Malik Kashif Arian.

Being a small farmer in Moza Khokhran he has sown wheat over eight acres of land. He said farmers are willing to follow all precautions and regulations to curb coronavirus but the government should also immediately address the fears. “I cannot afford to lose my crop. Even if there is a lockdown, I’ll go to harvest my crop and I am ready to face consequences,” he said.

Due to recent rains and inclement weather, the harvesting is likely to be delayed by 7-10 days. The wheat procurement season officially begins on April 1 in south Punjab.

Another farmer Asghar Haraj in Khanewal district has sown wheat in 13 acres of land. He said harvesting is mostly done by combine harvesters, and the farmers will face hardship in the present situation. Police personnel create problems in villages and the government should direct police for free movements of combine harvesters and trolleys. “The government needs to immediately come out with a plan otherwise it would be a chaotic situation when the harvesting starts,” he said. Jam Safdar Samija, farmer of Moza Multaniwala, said if the government procurement is delayed it will add to the farmers’ woes.

“First, there’s no clarity on any mechanism or guidelines being adopted by the government for harvesting the crop. Secondly, if the grain markets are not opened, where will farmers store their produce.

It is not easy for farmers like me to store the grain. The government should issue guidelines and remove ambiguity opening grain markets", he said. The southern Punjab Kisan Board secretary general Hafiz Hussein Ahmed said the wheat harvesting was facing a great challenge of scarcity of labor for the harvest process. "There could be a problem of shortage of labour as many have returned to their native places aimed at corona threats,” he said. The Punjab Agriculture Secretary Wasif Khurshid said the agriculture department was imparting awareness to farmers regarding coronavirus. He said all field formations are directed to ensure protection of farmers corona.

The wheat harvesting, sowing of cotton and paddy were in progress in Punjab. The Punjab government has relaxed seed, fertilizers and pesticide shops from closure to ensure provision of inputs. No crowd is allowed at wheat harvest and sowing of cotton while the agriculture department is motivating farm labor for washing their hands with sanitizers repeatedly. He paid tributes to agriculture formations on helping farmers to protect them.

Meanwhile, Punjab Agriculture Minister Noman Langrial said the provincial government has relaxed agriculture machinery workshops from lockdown on the demand of farmers' organisations. The minister said the province has targeted production of 10.9 million ton wheat this year. He said the agriculture officials are available for resolution of all affairs relating to wheat harvest and farmers.