Will the government walk the talk for farmers?

HS Sidhu 

While hearing a writ petition filed by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Haryana, The Punjab and Haryana High Court has indicted the Punjab government for failure to procure maize, oilseeds and other crops for which Minimum Support Price (MSP) is announced by the Centre. The court has issued an advisory to the state to make necessary financial and administrative arrangements for procurement on the pattern of Haryana. The problem of excess moisture than prescribed under specifications for maize, bajra and oilseeds is a major hurdle in the procurement of these crops. This can be managed by installing mechanical driers in the state’s major mandis. In fact, dried produce of these crops is procured by private traders much above the MSP rates. By providing the facility of mechanical driers, farmers can be saved from making distress sale. The current policy of the Centre provides for the procurement of crops other than wheat and paddy in the state pool at MSP. However, the state governments have to make their own financial arrangements — unlike wheat and paddy in which the government provides funds in advance to the states as Cash Credit Limit (CCL). Considering Punjab's poor financial condition, the Centre should provide CCL upfront for the procurement of these crops. The Centre cannot abdicate its responsibility to ensure the procurement of all the crops for which it fixes MSP. In view of the Court’s tough stand, the state government has no choice but to respect the advisory with or without the support of the Centre. Coarse grains such as maize (makki) and  millet (bajra) procured under this scheme, can be distributed to the consumers as per the provisions of National Food Security Act (NFSA). The subsidy on the distributed stocks can be claimed by the states from the Centre. Surplus stocks, if any, can be off-loaded in the open market on acquisition cost. In case, no buyer comes forward, the stocks can be auctioned within three months of procurement and loss, if any, can be claimed from the Centre. Oilseeds, however, can be procured and disposed of only in the open market. There is no provision to distribute these under NFSA. The state government is already embroiled in a controversy over the liability of Rs 31,000 crore spent on the procurement of wheat and paddy for the central pool. The procurement of maize in Punjab is  essential in the larger interest of the state. Punjab produces about 4-5 lakh metric tonnes of maize of which only about 3 lakh MT arrive in the mandis for procurement. The state government is entitled to distribute about 7-8 lakh MT food grains as per the listed number of beneficiaries under NFSA.

 The maize crop procured under the MSP scheme can easily be distributed to the NFSA beneficiaries against their entitlement. The procured maize can be supplied in one go to the fair price shops directly from the mandis to avoid storage cost or losses. It will be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders as the farmers will get MSP for their produce and the consumers will get makki at the rate of rupee one per kg as compared to rupees two per kg paid for wheat. The state government must take immediate action to implement the advisory issued by the court to at least procure maize during ensuing season. A lasting solution to air pollution and depletion of the water table in Punjab and Haryana can be found by adopting maize and other alternative crops to reduce the area under paddy. 

The farmers couldn't adopt maize cultivation on a large scale due to less price realisation because of its non-procurement by government agencies at MSP rates. The diversification efforts of the state government also cannot succeed in the absence of assured procurement of alternative crops by the government agencies. Will the government walk the talk?

The writer is a retired Additional Director Food & Civil Supplies, Punjab.