Farmers sell mustard below MSP as govt yet to start procurement

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, March 25

Farmers are forced to sell mustard crop below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as the government is yet to start the procurement process.

Farmers said that the government had fixed Rs 3,700 per quintal as the MSP for mustard this year, but the crop was being purchased by private buyers at the rate of Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,500 per quintal. Taking a serious note of the farmers’ plight, the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has launched an indefinite dharna outside the Mini-Secretariat here and sought immediate initiation of the procurement process so that farmers could sell their produce at the MSP.

“Farmers are facing a loss of Rs 200 to Rs 500 per quintal, as they have to sell their produce to private buyers below the MSP. Since mustard crop has been harvested in most of the villages, the farmers cannot wait further for the government’s procurement process to start,” said Shobha Ram, a farmer.

Asha Ram, another farmer, said since the region had witnessed a bumper yield this time, the government should initiate the procurement with immediate effect to extend the benefit of the MSP to the farmers.

“The government seems non-serious towards problems of the farmers as the date of procurement is yet to be decided despite arrival of considerable quantity of the crop in grain markets across south Haryana daily,” said Ram Kishan Mahlawat, state secretary of the BKS.

Sunder Lal, district BKS chief, said they would not lift the dharna until the government either started the procurement process or ensured every purchase of mustard at the MSP.

Ram Kanwar, District Manager, HAFED, said the purchase of mustard was to be done by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) which had not so far issued any notification regarding the procurement process.

“We shall start buying mustard immediate after getting directives from the government,” he added.

Bijender Hooda, City Magistrate, said that the district authorities had sent a communiqué to the state government urging it to initiate early procurement of mustard so that farmers could sell their crop at the MSP.