The Hindu Business Line : Bengal reaps rich dividend from wheat initiative

A COLLABORATIVE initiative undertaken by the West Bengal Government and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry in farming wheat in the State has begun to pay dividends this year in the shape of an increase in acreage and output. As a result of the initiative, the estimated production growth of wheat this year is likely to be 39 per cent at 11.5 lakh tonnes over 2002-03, while the area under cultivation has expanded by 25 per cent to 5.05 lakh hectares.

Mr S.K. Chakraborty, chairman of the Bengal chamber's sub-committee on food processing, stated this here on Wednesday. Mr Chakraborty, who is the general manager of Britannia Industries, said that the chamber-government initiative would also organise spot trading of the wheat at specified centres in the five wheat-producing districts.

The chamber is now attempting to build a farmer-buyer (actual food processing units/bakeries) linkage so that five or six tiers of middlemen are eliminated and the producers get a better price. The State is wheat deficient and currently much less than 50 per cent of State food processing units' requirement is met by the local production.

Mr Chakraborty said the quality of wheat produced in the State was considered best for the bakery units. However, because of its high moisture content, the local wheat variety had storage problem with a shorter life span. The government is also trying to circumvent this problem through application of pre- and post-harvest technologies.

The initiative's broad plan is to set up wheat farmers' clubs or groups in the five identified districts through intervention of the local government officials, establish regular selling points and monitor the direct linkage mechanism.

To begin with, the trading centres could be government farms located near the growing areas. It has been decided that no mandi tax would levied on the purchases from these designated centres. It has also been decided that no sales tax would be imposed on such direct sale of wheat to the consumers.

Incidentally, the State Government has spent about Rs 4 crore through extension programmes this year, the first year of the initiative's operation.