UP govt allows farmers to sell wheat at MSP without online registration

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh will now be able to sell wheat at government procurement centres even without having registered online, an official statement said on Monday. The 'Farmer Registry', a digital process for the identification of farmers and verification of their crops, is not mandatory, the statement said, adding that the decision has been taken in view of the inconvenience being faced by farmers. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed all District Magistrates to implement this order immediately. Earlier this year, the Farmer Registry was made mandatory for farmers willing to sell wheat at the minimum support price at government procurement centres. However, many farmers were unable to sell their crop at government centres due to a lack of registration and were being forced to sell their produce to middlemen at lower prices. Taking cognisance of the farmers' plight, the chief minister intervened immediately. Under the new order, farmers will now be able to sell their wheat at government procurement centres without a registry, just as they did in previous years, the statement said. Adityanath said, ''Farmers will be able to sell their wheat as before.'' He also said that farmers coming to procurement centres to sell wheat should not face any inconvenience. In view of the extreme heat, proper arrangements such as drinking water, fans, shade, and other basic facilities must be ensured at all procurement centres. According to the Food and Civil Supplies Department, as of 11.00 am on April 20, more than 2.38 lakh metric tonnes of wheat have been procured from over 42,000 farmers. More than 4.77 lakh farmers have registered so far for selling wheat. Over 5,400 procurement centres have been set up across the state, the statement said.