Punjab farmers received Rs 202 cr in last 1 week: Centre

New Delhi: For the first time, Punjab farmers are getting direct bank transfer of payment against sale of rabi crops, and about Rs 202.69 crore has already been transferred in the last one week, the Union Food Ministry said.

After much persuasion, the Punjab government has agreed to implement direct bank transfer (DBT) of payment of minimum support price (MSP) against sale of rabi (winter) crops such as wheat from April 10 onwards.

Currently, wheat procurement is underway in Punjab and other states.

"For the first time, farmers of Punjab have started receiving payments directly into their bank accounts against sale of their rabi crops," the ministry said in a statement.

This year, a new chapter has been added in the history of public procurement as Haryana and Punjab have also switched to direct online transfer of MSP payment to farmers' bank accounts following the central government's direction,

it said.

This is being celebrated by the farmers of Punjab and Haryana as for the first time they are receiving direct benefits against sale of their hard toiled crops without any delay, it added.

About 41.8 lakh tonnes of wheat has been procured from Punjab in the ongoing 2021-22 marketing season (April-March).

Till April 18, about Rs 202.69 crore in Punjab and about Rs 1,417 crore in Haryana has been transferred directly into farmers' accounts, it said.

The total wheat procurement in the country so far has reached 121.7 lakh tonnes, as per the ministry's latest data.

About 44.8 lakh tonnes of wheat has been procured from Haryana and 28.5 lakh tonnes from Madhya Pradesh till April 18.

Overall, about 11.6 lakh farmers across the country have benefitted from the procurement operations, it added.