Union food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal has asked state-owned FCI to open more procurement centres covering all revenue districts in Uttar Pradesh for the benefit of farmers and also sell more wheat in open market to cool prices.

The minister stated this while reviewing the operations of Food Corporation of India's (FCI) UP Region in Lucknow.

FCI is the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains.

Goyal told the FCI officials to use modern technologies in foodgrain management and quality control to bring more transparency and minimum human interface, according to an official statement.

He called upon all the officers to send their suggestions to make the functioning of the FCI more efficient and modern.

Goyal directed FCI officers to use their expertise in the field of foodgrain management and suggest the better design of godowns in order to create higher capacities in limited area of land.

While reviewing the issues related to wheat and paddy procurement, he directed that FCI should open more procurement centres covering almost all revenue districts so the farmers have option to sell their produce to FCI or to any other agency.

He appreciated the use of E-POP machine at purchase centres in UP and advised that the same system should be implemented in other states also in order to bring more transparency in the procurement system from farmers.

Keeping in view of the demand, population and vast geographic area of Uttar Pradesh, the Union minister directed that more quantity of wheat should be offered in the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to control the market price of wheat, the statement said.

The Centre has recently decided to offload 30 lakh tonnes of wheat in the open market to bring down the prices of wheat and wheat flour (atta). Out of the 30 lakh tonnes, 25 lakh tonnes wheat are being sold to bulk consumers like flour millers.

While reviewing the storage capacities in the state, Goyal said all the godowns of FCI, both owned and hired should be of highest standard.

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