K-P govt to buy wheat on designated days

Minister says process proceeding smoothly

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated specific days for procurement of wheat from local farmers as part of its ongoing wheat procurement campaign.

Sundays have been designated for the procurement of wheat from growers in Malakand, Haripur, Swabi, and Nowshera while Saturdays and Sundays have been set aside for the procurement of wheat from local farmers in Dera Ismail Khan and Mardan.

During the designated days, wheat will be purchased on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. A maximum of 100 metric tons of wheat is to be purchased from each farmer, whether local or from other provinces.

According to provincial Food Minister Syed Zahir Shah Toru, specific days have been allocated for local farmers to facilitate them. Local farmers will have to present verified documents and identification to sell their wheat. A purchase committee, comprising a Halal Food Authority Assistant Director and other officials, will verify the wheat and documents.

If a farmer from Punjab is found selling wheat under the guise of a local grower, action would be taken against them under the relevant laws. A conflict resolution committee has also been established to address issues related to wheat procurement from local farmers. The committee will comprise the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Chairman), Deputy Director of the Halal Food Authority, Deputy Director of Agriculture, and the Divisional Deputy Director of Food.

The provincial government’s priority is to benefit local farmers through wheat procurement. In the first 10 days of the wheat procurement campaign, from May 7 to May 17, wheat was purchased from local farmers.

The K-P government has once again designated specific days for the convenience of local farmers. All possible measures have been taken to ensure transparency in the wheat procurement campaign.

Wheat procurement has been proceeding smoothly across the province as Zahir Shah Toru last week said that, despite ongoing economic challenges, the provincial government had commenced the procurement of 300,000 metric tons of wheat at a cost of Rs29 billion.

The procurement started on May 7 and is scheduled to continue for two months, the Minister said during his visit to the wheat godown and procurement centre in Abbottabad, accompanied by Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Iftikhar Jadoon.

Emphasizing the government’s dedication to providing relief to local farmers amid economic difficulties, the Minister stressed the importance of transparency in the procurement process.

The district food controller of Abbottabad briefed the Minister on the arrangements made for wheat procurement, including the installation of CCTV cameras in the godown which has a storage capacity of 18,000 metric tons of wheat.