Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Jai Parkash Dalal informed that the number of mandis and procurement centers for the purchase of wheat has been increased from 477 to 2000 and from 64 to 248 for the purchase of mustard so that there is one mandi available to the farmers for every three villages for the sale of crops. 
“A farmer can sell 40 quintal produce daily. This will be applicable only for this Rabi season as farmers are facing problems in selling their produce in market due to nationwide lock down,” said a senior agriculture department official.
The Centre on Thursday called a national-level video conference on April 16 for chalking out a strategy for sowing the rain-fed kharif crops, such as rice, and ensuring safety of farmers in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Apart from procurement, planting of cotton and summer ‘moong’ pulses is a challenge for farmers in Madhya Pradesh, UP, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan because of concerns of labour shortage as well as availability of fertilizers and seeds.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced to extend the procurement period of pulses and oilseeds which was scheduled to end on April 30, allowing states to complete their procurement exercise within 90 days. States procure 25% of the total output of oilseeds and pulses from farmers at the MSP fixed by the centre.
FCI has transported 2.2 million tonnes of food grains to various parts of the country to help states distribute subsidised as well as free food grains to 810 million people under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, which entitles them free allocation of 6 kg of rice or wheat for next three months.
Usually beekeepers pay a cost for stay in flowering fields in other states, including Jammu & Kashmir. The rent has soared to Rs 900-1,000 per box in higher altitude areas as only a few beekeepers have managed to travel due to restrictions on road travel.
The Centre has identified 21 agricultural products, including honey, potatoes, grapes, soya beans and groundnuts, which Indian can export, taking advantage of the trade restrictions against Chinese goods. 
While the seed industry is trying to take help of the postal department to dispatch high value low volume vegetable seeds from a handful of production areas to the rest of the country, farmers across the country seem to be reluctant to sow vegetable seeds after seeing much of their crop rot in the fields. 
Khattar said that with a view to purchase the farmers’ produce in a staggered way, the number of mandis and purchase centres for the procurement of wheat has been increased from 477 to 2000 and for the procurement of mustard these have been increased from 67 to 140.
The COVID-19 related lockdown has affected the working in the jute mills thereby disrupting the production of jute bags. Textiles ministry on Tuesday said the move is aimed to protect the interest of the wheat farmers as the grains are likely to ready for packing mid-April onwards.
The federal wheat procurement in India has been deferred to April 15 and the states needs to maintain social distancing during the 45-50 day long marketing season that usually witnesses convergence of farmers across districts. 
The government plans to forecast crop output and yield every month to get regular predictive analysis on the likely demand-supply situation and its impact on prices. The current system of preparing forecasts every four months is inadequate, said officials.
Traders have sought fewer restrictions on transport and movement of grains and other food commodities by the railways.
"If the gardens were opened today we would have been able to salvage 40% of the first flush teas which is the largest revenue earner for Darjeeling tea industry. The chief minister has now sought time. If the gardens reopen in Wednesday then we could still salvage 15% -20% of the first flush crop," said Kaushik Basu, secretary Darjeeling Tea Association.
There has been an increase in demand for the tuber from the southern states, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam, with the result that prices have increased to Rs 23-25 per kg from Rs 18 per kg.
Kerala, which is home to several plantation crops, has borne the brunt of the loss, while the rapidly growing number of virus victims in neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are likely to make matters worse for those states.
The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee in Vashi said 140 tonne mangoes were shipped from Mumbai on Saturday for the markets in the Middle East, reviving the export of essential commodities through the sea route.
Food Corporation of India, the central agency which procures food grains for government and transports it to states, set a new record in single day movement by moving 70 rakes carrying 1.93 lakh tonnes continuously for two days on Friday and Saturday. 
“States can purchase 25% of the total production of these commodities at MSP. We have released Rs 1250 crore for the procurement of 1.71 lakh tonnes of chana and 0.87 lakh tonnes of masur,” agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar tweeted.
