Former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh on Friday said that delays in the procurement of paddy and bajra, crop purchase at prices lower than the minimum support price (MSP) and crop damage caused by rain are pushing farmers into a severe financial crisis.
This is not merely a market problem, it is the result of the failure of the government procurement system. All restrictive conditions imposed on procurement should be removed,’’ the former minister maintained. “The MSP for PR paddy has been fixed at ₹ 2,461 per quintal, but in the absence of government procurement, farmers are being forced to sell their produce for just ₹ 2,000 to ₹ 2,100 per quintal. Consequently, they are suffering a loss of ₹ 361 to ₹ 461 per quintal. “Despite the announced MSP of ₹ 2,900 per quintal, farmers are receiving only ₹ 1,900 to ₹ 2,000 per quintal in the open market. They are thus suffering losses of ₹ 900 to ₹ 1,000 per quintal. Claims of providing MSP for 24 crops remain meaningless unless farmers actually receive its benefits.
Announcing MSP is not enough, he said, farmers must have the opportunity to sell their crops at that price. Singh said situation regarding bajra was equally alarming.
“Farmers are now being forced to run from one mandi to another to sell their produce. The paddy procurement figures raise serious questions about the functioning of the government. The total arrival of paddy in mandis has reached approximately 21 lakh tonnes, but only half of the produce has been sold so far, and merely one-third has been lifted. Similarly, the arrival of bajra has reached 3,35,682 tonnes, but only about half has been procured, Singh said. Accusing the BJP government of apathy, former chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday also demanded that the government should fulfil its promise to procure paddy at ₹ 3,100 per quintal, “Procurement is not proceeding smoothly.
In a statement, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader said the “anti-farmer policies” of BJP led Haryana government and the collapse of the procurement system have aggravated farmers’ problems. Rain has damaged paddy lying in fields and mandis while delays in government procurement and the slow pace of lifting have worsened the crisis more,’’ he said. Farmers are trapped in a series of issues, including problems with gate passes, verification processes, procurement limits, long traffic jams, and excessive waiting times,” he said.
