Bhopal, March 15 The Madhya Pradesh government has commenced wheat procurement at designated mandis across the state from today. The crop will be procured at the newly announced Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2600 per quintal, which includes additional assistance of Rs 175 per quintal.
Madhya Pradesh is known for its high-protein wheat varieties, like Sharbati and Durum, which are in demand both domestically and globally. According to official sources, around 4,000 centres have been set up across the state to facilitate procurement.
Initially scheduled to begin on March 1, the procurement process was delayed due to incomplete wheat harvesting and high moisture content in the arriving crop.
State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Govind Singh Rajput had earlier stated that wheat with excessive moisture would not meet fair average quality standards and would fetch lower prices for farmers.
Wheat procurement will begin with early arrivals in Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal, and Narmadapuram divisions, followed by other regions. Farmers have been urged to register for procurement at the designated centres before the March 31 deadline.
The government has sent SMS notifications to registered farmers and enabled online registration via a dedicated web portal and mobile app.
Additionally, registration facilities are available at Gram Panchayats, Janpad Panchayats, and Tehsil offices.
The state government anticipates procuring approximately 80 lakh tonnes of wheat this rabi season. Official statistics indicate that wheat sowing in Madhya Pradesh ranges between 6.4 million and 9.5 million hectares annually.
According to the second advance estimate for 2022-23, the sown area was 7.15 million hectares.
In 2018-19, about 73.16 lakh tonnes of wheat were procured at Rs 11,298.21 crore; in 2019-20, about 73.64 lakh tonnes were procured at Rs 13,560.59 crore; in 2020-21, about 129.42 lakh tonnes of wheat were procured at Rs 24,806.91 crore; in 2021-22, about 128.15 lakh tonnes were procured at Rs 25,301.62 crore; and in 2022-23, 46.03 lakh tonnes at Rs 9,271.42 crore.
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