SAHIWAL: The food department has procured around 71,000 metric tonne wheat during the ongoing procurement drive in the Sahiwal division.

Food Department Deputy Director Qayyum Qudrat told Dawn 407,000 gunny bags would be distributed among the farmers during the procurement drive and the department had distributed 1,54,000 bags so far. Before the start of the procurement drive, gunny bags having the capacity of preserving 154,000 metric tonne wheat had been distributed among the growers.

The department has purchased 3,868, 5,772, and 6,963 metric tonne wheat in Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan districts, respectively.

Mr Qudrat said out of seven tehsils of Sahiwal division, the food department was not allowed to purchase wheat in two tehsils of Okara and Pakpattan as only the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) was allowed to procure wheat from there.

Talking to the farmers at a food procurement centre at Harappa, Commissioner Nadir Chatha said the Punjab government was paying Rs1,800 per maund to the farmers.

He asked the farmers to bring wheat to the food department centres directly and abstain from selling their produce to middlemen.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2021