Food Corporation of India and State procurement agencies have so far procured 292.52 lakh tonnes (LT) of wheat -- more than 68 per cent of this rabi marketing season's target of 427.36 LT -- till Sunday, an official statement said on Monday.
Significantly, procurement this year was 70 per cent more than 171.53 LT wheat procured during the same period last year.
Procurement from Punjab alone was 114.76 LT, followed by Haryana and Madhya Pradesh which bought 80.55 LT and 83.76 LT, respectively. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were the other two States that an witnessed uptick in wheat procurement to date.
According to the statement, as many as 28.8 lakh farmers across 12 States, including the national capital Delhi, benefitted from the wheat procurement. Till April 30, farmers in Punjab received a direct bank transfer of ₹17,495 crore, while their counterparts in Haryana received 9,268.24 crore towards whet payment. Both these States introduced direct payment to farmers for produce for the first time in the current rabi season.