The newly harvested wheat, which has lost its lustre and thickness due to recent spells of rain and hailstorm, will be acquired by the government through the ongoing procurement exercise, providing relief to weather-beaten farmers across Madhya Pradesh. Directions have been issued to all government procurement centres to purchase wheat from farmers, even wheat that has lost its lustre and thickness due to the recent spell of inclement weather in many districts of the state, Narottam Mishra, MP home and public relations minister, said on Tuesday. Only a few days ago, the state government decided to purchase wheat from farmers that was up to 14% moist. The latest development is consistent with the central government’s recent relaxation of standards for grain purchased from farmers with lustre losses. Last month, while inspecting crop damage in the Bundelkhand and Central MP districts of Sagar and Vidisha, respectively, the CM announced compensation for farmers (who had lost more than 50% of their crops) at the rate of Rs 32,000 per hectare, which he claimed was the highest in the country. Furthermore, the weather-beaten farmers would be compensated under the crop insurance scheme, offsetting their total Rabi crop loss.
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