PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has put in place an online system to monitor need and supply chain of wheat flour in the province amid persisting flour crisis.

The system has been developed by the performance management and reforms unit (PMRU) at the chief secretary’s office in consultation with the food department.

Officials told Dawn that the system had been built at the direction of chief secretary Dr Kazim Niaz. The system would digitise the entire wheat and flour procurement from all the sources, including Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Service Corporation, mills and purchase of flour from Punjab’s open market.

In addition to this, the system would also keep track of flour mill-wise wheat received, grinded and supplied to the market and district-wise storage position in government and private storages throughout the province.

The system would provide record of all the wheat received and supplied by the government, while private sector data both from KP and Punjab would be punched into the system through representatives of the district administration in collaboration with the flour dealers association.

The system would also keep check on district-wise flour mills’ daily stock position, provide for inspection of government and private storages by the food department officials and the district administrations, and ensure inspection of subsidised flour at sale points in the districts.

The system would keep the record updated about procurement of wheat and wheat supply to flour mills and flour supply to sale points through the online system. Each wheat/flour bag will possess a QR Code for verification purpose.

Under the system, the chief minister and chief secretary would be able to keep tabs on district-wise updated status of wheat/flour (inflow to mills and outflow to market through a dashboard in their offices).

In addition, total need of the province (per annum and per day) with total stock position with time-lined inflow against need to warn in advance against shortages would also be available to the high officials, enabling them to sound alert in case of shortage or prediction of shortage in a particular district or across the province.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2020