Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 27: SKUAST Jammu submitted the research study report titled “Impact of Government intervention on procurement of wheat and factors affecting wheat productivity in Jammu” to the Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir here today.
The study has been conducted by a team of scientists from SKUAST-Jammu, comprising Principal Investigator Dr Rajinder Peshin and Dr. L.K. Sharma, Rakesh Sharma, Vinod Gupta, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Rakesh Nanda as Co-Investigators. The report was presented by Director Extension, SKUAST (J), Dr K. S. Rissam.
The report findings have revealed that the Agriculture Department has succeeded in getting a higher price of surplus produce of wheat and paddy by market intervention through facilitating procurement by FCI.
On the occasion, the Minister was also informed that during the current year, the millers and the private traders purchased the wheat and paddy grains on higher rates than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) thus preventing the distress sale and resulting in increase of the economic returns to the farmers.
The Minister said that State Government has taken up market intervention through procurement in the backdrop of earlier reports of distress sale by the farmers since the last four years and taken steps to prevent this.
The Minister was briefed that during Rabi 2012-13 department has facilitated all time high procurement of over 1.00 lakh quintal of wheat which included 92499 quintals of wheat grains procured by FCI on Minimum Support Price and 8418 quintals of High Yielding Variety Seeds of wheat produced by the farmers under Seed Village Programme.
The Minister was also informed that during Kharif Marketing Season 2012-13, 36119 qtls of paddy grains were procured against 19722 qtls of paddy grains procured during Kharif 2011-12. Due to competition in the market the private millers and traders increased the per quintal wheat price from Rs 1350/- (MSP) to Rs 1600/- and aggressively purchased wheat produce directly from the farmers, the Minister was told.
The other significant results of the study relates to the productivity of wheat in irrigated belt of Jammu division. The study revealed that the productivity is far higher than Revenue Department estimates. As per the extensive survey conducted during the course of the study per hectare yield of wheat is 27.82, 30.63 and 30.86 qtls in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts respectively.
The study further revealed that Department of Agriculture is the main source of wheat seed and the Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) in Jammu, Kathua and Samba is 43%, 37% and 38% respectively during Rabi 2012-13. There is also increase in awareness regarding the safe use of Herbicides and Fungicides in the irrigated areas.
Among others Director Agriculture, Jammu, Ajay Khajuria, Joint Director Agriculture (Extension), A. K. Malhotra, Joint Director Agriculture (Inputs) Susheel Sahani, Dr Rajinder Peshin, and Dr Rakesh Nanda from SKUAST (J), Deputy Director (Central) C. M. Sharma, PPO Bulesh Zutshi, and I/C Procurement Officer, Satiash Bhagat were present on the occasion.
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