Bhopal, June 8: Punjab, known for past several decades as the wheat bowl of India, was surpassed by Madhya Pradesh as the top procurer of the highly consumed food grain. The central Indian state, on Monday, announced a cumulative purchase of 127.7 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat, higher than Punjab where the procurement of wheat in this year's Rabi season was recorded as 127.2 LMT. MSP for 14 Kharif Crops Hiked by 50-83%, Farm Loans' Repayment Deferred Till August 31: Union Cabinet.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed rejoice, as he announced the state's achievement of becoming he topmost wheat purchaser in India. "Madhya Pradesh has left Punjab behind to become the top purchaser of wheat in the country by procuring 127.7 lakh metric tonnes of wheat," Chouhan said.

The procurement in Madhya Pradesh is currently underway, whereas, the harvesting and sale season completed in Punjab on May 31. While agrarian experts found no direct reason why the latter was surpassed by MP this year, one of the reasons is stated to be the direct procurement by government.

Till the past Rabi harvest seasons, private players in Madhya Pradesh played a key role in procurement of wheat. Due to the lockdown this year, most farmers relied on direct purchase by the government.

Year-on-year basis, the procurement by Madhya Pradesh government has nearly doubled. In 2019, the state had purchased 67.25 lakh tonnes of wheat. On the other hand, Punjab had clocked the highest-ever procurement of 129.12 LMT.

Madhya Pradesh has seen a drastic increase in wheat procurement over the past decade. While Punjab and Haryana dominated the central pool of wheat purchase since decades, MP procured only upto 0.57 LMT wheat till 2007-08.

By 2014, however, it succeeded in dislodging Haryana by emerging as the second highest procurer of wheat grains. Experts have also claimed that the state farmers increased their production capacity due to a surge in demand. Several private purchasers have lauded the quality of MP wheat, which has led to a noteworthy increase in production.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2020 05:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).