Eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan has said wheat procurement in Punjab and Haryana during the ongoing Rabi season is very critical for the food security of the country. Prof Swaminathan, who is credited with developing strong food security system in India, said unless the government is able to give the difference between the government procurement price and prevailing market price, farmers would not be interested in giving their produce for the public goods sector like public distribution system (PDS), ICDS and food security reserves, which at this point of time is so very vital to build up the dwindling wheat stock in the country. "Wheat stocks are dropping. Recently the agriculture minister also mentioned that wheat consumption is increasing in the country. That is why this year's purchase is important for the government. Immediate action is required on whether bonus is being considered. If the prevailing market price is more than the government announced minimum sales price of Rs 1,000 per quintal, farmers would prefer to give their produce for commercial profit,' he said. Swaminathan stressed that agriculture emergency was developing not just in India but the world over "Many countries are short of food. In India wheat has now become a national crop and its consumption is increasing in southern and northeastern states as well. I do hope farmers in Punjab and Haryana give their wheat to the government because it needs the grain for fulfilling the PDS, ICDS and food security reserves'. "In the US, wheat is being diversified towards animal feed as the corn crop is now being used to produce bio-fuel ethanol. Internationally, wheat prices have gone up several times in the past eight years,' he said. Meanwhile, the Food Corporation of India has expressed confidence that it would meet the government's procurement target of 1.5 million tonnes for PDS in the current rabi season.