Chandigarh: Giving a big relief to the Moong cultivators across the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today extended the date of procurement of summer Moong crop on Minimum Support Price (MSP) by August 10th.

Divulging the details, the Chief Minister said that earlier the procurement of Moong crop on MSP in the state was to end on July 31st. However, he said that to facilitate the farmers for selling their crop, the state government has decided to extend this procurement season by August 10th.

Bhagwant Mann said that those farmers who have not yet sold their crop can sell it now in the mandis by this date adding that Managing Director (MD) Markfed, which is state nodal agency for the procurement, Ramveer has been given necessary directions in this regard.

The Chief Minister further said that his government has also decided to bear the gap, upto Rs 1000 per quintal, for Moong crop sold below MSP to the farmers due to damage in grain. He said that this incentive will be given to all the Moongi cultivators, including those who have already sold their crop to private players. Bhagwant Mann said that he has already directed the officers to ensure that the process of payment of this gap funding to the concerned farmers is ensured at the earliest.

The Chief Minister said that so far the state government has purchased 4807 Metric Ton (MT) of Summer Moong in the state. He said that a payment worth Rs 32.23 crore has been released to the farmers for their produce, which amounts to 92.15% of the total payment due. Bhagwant Mann said that the remaining payment will also be released shortly in the coming days.

Pertinently, to encourage the farmers for crop diversification and supplement their income, the Chief Minister had in a maiden and path breaking initiative, started the procurement of the Summer Moong crop at a Minimum Support Price of Rs. 7275 per quintal directly from the farmers. With this initiative the farmers will get Rs. 36,000 as an additional income with five quintals expected yield per acre in between Wheat harvest and Paddy cultivation. Giving affirmative response to appeal by Chief Minister, the farmers of the state have this year sown the Summer Moong crop over around one lakh acres of land as compared to 50,000 acres last year.

The post Date of Moong procurement on MSP extended till August 10 by Punjab government appeared first on TV Punjab | English News Channel.

Chandigarh: On the persistent efforts of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Government of India (GoI) has agreed to implement Price Support Scheme for procurement of moong crop in Punjab for Rabi season 2021-22.

According to a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office Government of India has conveyed the State government through a letter, conveying its approval to implement the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for procurement of 4585 MT of summer Moong in Punjab for Rabi season 2021-22 as per the PSS guidelines, 2018.

The letter further mentioned that the date of procurement will be decided by the State government and the procurement period will remain 90 days from such date.

Pointing out further, the spokesperon said the GoI’s communiqué revealed that the Central nodal agency should verify the availability of scientific storage space according to PSS guidelines before commencement of procurement. ‘The State Government will provide a revolving fund equivalent to at least 15% 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 reads.

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

Pertinently, summer moong is a crop of 65 days with an expected yield of about 5 quintals per acre. It may be recalled that the MSP of unpolished moong is Rs. 7275 per quintal but generally market prices are higher than the aforesaid price. However, 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.

The Punjab government had already requested the Centre to purchase the entire quantity of moong crop to make our country self-reliant in pulses having high protein content.

The post After Punjab’s request, Union Govt agrees to procure Moong on MSP appeared first on TV Punjab | English News Channel.