The center should adopt a price shortage scheme to provide compensation to farmers for their products, especially wheat, from the minimum support price scheme (SME), said government think tank member Niti Aayog prof. Ramesh Chand.
The current SME system is disrupting because it affects the competitiveness of consumer industries, such as bakeries and bread producers in the wheat sector, Chand said, opening a three-day ninth international seminar on wheat.
Under the price shortage scheme, farmers will be compensated for the difference between the PPU established for a particular crop and its market prices. The government of Madhya Pradesh has accepted this method of payment under Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana until March 2018.
SMEs exceed C2 costs
Stating that the current wheat SME of 1,975 ₹ quintals is 50 per higher than the cost of C2 (all processing costs and family work except land rent), he said it is 106 percent more than A2 plus FSL costs (all growing costs that the grower has in addition to the value of family work).
“There is no problem even if farmers get 200 percent of the cost of cultivation as a yield – and I support such payments – but let us sell the product at an open market price because SMEs are distortive,” he said, stressing the need to provide refunds to farmers through the scheme. lack of prices.
Price range
Calling on the wheat products industry to make exports competitive, especially bakery products, he stressed that in the currently established Agricultural Marketing Committee (APMC) there was a big difference in prices between what farmers get and what consumers pay.
“The price range is such that legumes that bring farmers 6,000 quintals are sold in retail outlets with almost 105 kg.” If there is an appropriate supply chain from farmers to retailers, the price range could be 30-40 percent lower, ”Chand said.
Ignoring the opinion that wheat was water intensive, member Niti Aayog said it is one of the most efficient crops that needs a lower amount of irrigation compared to rice. “Wheat is to blame for rice diseases. Six or seven irrigation cycles are done by farmers because they get free energy. Normally, 2-3 rounds of irrigation would be enough, ”he said.
Chand said wheat was also a highly nutritious crop with an average protein level of 10.5 percent compared to 7.16 ragouts, 9-9.7 percent jowar and 9.9 percent rice. “The level of Bajra protein is slightly higher and again ragi has a higher calcium content,” he said.
Member Niti Aayog said the path to wheat biofortification is, while the wheat industry should look to promote multi-labeled products. He said that wheat had a good space for increased consumption because the Indians spent only 1 to 100 Rs for wheat products that are not flour. Also, 88 percent of the costs for wheat were related to ground flour, and the rest to value-added products.
Siraj Chaudhary, CEO and Chief Executive Officer of NCMSL, said the future of wheat should be viewed differently with increased importance for storage and movement. He also said that the lack of wheat volatility did not attract trade and this issue needs to be resolved
Chaudhary also called for investment in the manufacturing sector to make the industry ready to take advantage of export opportunities.
S Sivakumar, head of the group, Agri-Business, ITC Ltd, in his address, said that the concept of the Center on one nation of one price for the sale of wheat through the open market sales scheme affects the return to farmers. He also called the ICJ distortive.
Sridevi Annapurna Singh, director of CSIR-CFTRI, said academic institutions are ready to join hands with industry to research new products.
0 Comments