SAHIWAL: Sahiwal division is all set to procure 476,592 metric tonnes of wheat for 2020-21 in a 30-day aggressive wheat procurement drive starting April 20.

Sources said that under a new wheat procurement policy, the food department was directed to procure wheat with a lenient approach where growers will not be asked to produce girdawari (crop assessment) documents either for issuance of gunny bags or selling of wheat at 45 food collection centres developed in three districts of the division.

Food officials at procurement centres will be provided with personal protective equipment and free sanitisers at entrance gates at all procurement centres.

Sahiwal district will procure 205,937 metric tonnes, Okara 181,772 and Pakpattan 88,883 during the 2020-21 drive.

For the first time, the Punjab Information Technology Board has established a dashboard displaying a list of applicants/wheat sellers and data of issuance of gunny bags at collection centres, which will be monitored from the provincial capital.

The wheat will be purchased at the support price of Rs1,400 per 40 kilogrammes. Local food officials have been directed to pay delivery charges also at Rs9 per 100kg to growers.

Hafiz Salman Tanveer, deputy director (food), told Dawn that a drive for distribution of gunny bags among farmers will being on April 15 (tomorrow). Under the policy, gunny bags will be issued to growers or sellers as per their demand following an open policy.

He said no flour mill or open market stakeholder, including jute mills, will be allowed to purchase wheat directly from farmers.

Food officials said that over 4.7 million 100kg gunny bags will be distributed through 45 centres.

Muhammad Hussain, district president of the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, said farmers will get 100 gunny bags of 100kg or 50kg as per their demands, while the centre in-charge and the district food controller had the authority to sanction 500 and 1,000 more gunny bags to any individual grower who may seek additional bags.

There is a ban on inter-provincial wheat movement during the procurement drive and the district administration will set up posts at all exit points of the province for the purpose.

The provincial government will procure 4.5 million metric tonnes of wheat from 393 procurement centres across the province. This is the same target that the PML-N government had achieved in 2018 under the then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2020