Centre allows MP govt to procure pulses till July 31

In what comes as a major relief to farmers of Madhya Pradesh, the Centre has extended the last date of procurement of onions and pulses. The decision in this connection was taken by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh during a meeting with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Friday.

According to revised time, the state government had been allowed to procure onions directly from farmers till July 15 and the date of procurement of tur and moong pulses has been extended till July 31.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Singh said, "The government is committed to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of doubling the farmers' income by 2022, the year when we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our freedom."

Singh further said that the objective is to provide a solution for the agriculture sector by raising the living standard of total 22.5 per cent farmers below the poverty line. "A new strategy has been devised for crops, horticulture, dairy, poultry farming, fishery farming and other activities related to agriculture and agriculture sector to realise the PM's dream. For this, the government has increased the budgetary allocation from Rs 45,035.20 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 62,376 crore in 2017-18," he added.