Centre seeks Rajasthan wheat
NEW DELHI : The Centre is in talks with Rajasthan to increase procurement of wheat and coarse grains, a government official said, seeking anonymity. At present, Rajasthan buys oilseeds and pulses in larger quantities than it does wheat and coarse grains. The centre seeks to improve wheat procurement and encourage millet consumption by running the procurement drive in collaboration with state and central agencies.
“Historically, the state is not very forthcoming about procurement operations. It purchases oilseeds and pulses in bulk, but procuring wheat and coarse grains is not substantial despite significant production," the official said. As per the latest edition of the annual Agricultural Statistics at a Glance report, Rajasthan, a significant contributor to India’s agricultural output, yielded 9.48 million tonnes of wheat across 2.58 million hectares in FY22.
As the leading producer of Bajra, it contributed 3.75 million tonnes to the total coarse cereal production of 7.07 million tonnes from 3.74 million hectares. It harvested 4 million tonnes of pulses and 8.4 million tonnes of oilseeds in the fiscal year. In the 2021-22 crop year, foodgrain production in the state was at 21.05 million tonnes, or 11.3% of the country’s total output, from an area of 14.71 million hectares.
“Paddy in Rajasthan is not as big as in Punjab and Haryana. We are not inclined to growing water-guzzling crops in a desert region. So, we don’t expect rice procurement from there," he added.
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