Open House: What steps should be taken to tackle a glut in grain markets?

Need to break the transporters’ cartel

The arrival of wheat at the grain markets peaks around Baisakhi. Likewise, heaps of paddy pile up in mandis during marketing of the kharif harvest. The procurement agencies often fail to lift the gunny bags full of grain at the same pace, leading to a glut-like situation. This causes a big space issue which adds to the sufferings of farmers due to unwanted delays and value-cut imposed on the produce lying in the open damaged by sudden rainfall or storm. Besides the vagaries of weather, transport contractors, to grind their axe, resort to pressure tactics by going slow on lifting the stocks during such conditions. The problem goes on escalating every season leading to inconveniences for the producers and the marketeers as well. Notably, the market-operating cycle now for every harvest is brisk and brief, but the purchasing and lifting arrangements of the produce at the marketing centres is not up to the mark and needs to be expedited. The existing mechanism has to be reinvented, which calls for extensive reforms. At the first place, the practice of e-tendering of transportation contracts every season may be revisited by the government, as the transporters’ cartel often aggravates the problems for vicious interests. As an alternate, local truck operators and farmers using own vehicles or tractor-trolleys to bring their harvest to the market yards can be engaged for offloading the goods at storage godowns upon sale by reimbursing reasonable expenses to them. This will ensure timely lifting of the stocks. Alongside, the storage godowns be emptied well in advance and readied for stocking of new arrivals. The marketing regulations be suitability amended to encourage open market operations so that registered private players play a vital role to facilitate quick procurement and lifting the foodgrain from the fields itself. Such steps will not only prevent pilferage, wastage and damage to foodgrain, but also solve the recurring problem of glut of stocks at the procurement centres.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

QUESTION

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently stressed that the right to a road is a part of the right to life. What should the district administration do to ensure that the local residents are not denied this basic right?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (May 18).

Run spl trains to send grain to other states

Punjab is expecting a yield of 132 lakh metric tonnes of wheat this year despite the damaged caused by inclement weather. There are four state government agencies — Punsup, Markfed, Pungrain and PSWC — along with the FCI that are involved in the procurement process. This year, directions of the Central Government to Punjab to send the procured wheat directly to consumer states through trains without storing the same has led to a glut-like situation in the grain market. The state is able to transport daily only one metric tonne of grain, whereas about 10 lakh metric tonnes of the same arrived in the market. The major problem of the procurement process is the direct transportation of grain to the consumer states. Therefore, either the Centre should at least allow the state to transport the procured grain in bags to open plinths taken on rent by the FCI like the previous practice or the state on its own should involve private participation for transportation. Most of the large mandis in the state have a yard linked to the railway line, but currently, about 17-18 lakh metric tonnes of grain is transported every month by the same, hence special freight trains should be run by the Centre to free the market space at the earliest possible.

Dr Kulwant Singh Phull

Manage demand and supply effectively

The main reason for the glut in grain markets during procurement is due to the demand and supply mismanagement. This problem is not new but it is there from very beginning at the time of Green Revolution. The Central Government over the years has been responsible for the lack of funds for the required development of the infrastructure in mandis across the state. Secondly, successive governments in the state, too, haven’t utilised the Rural Development Fund optimally. The RDF has been diverted to other sectors over the years. Unfortunately, farmers are at the receiving end of the entire mismanagement; they have to face the undeserving consequences and that is the reason why families and youngsters in the rural belts are immigrating abroad as they don’t see any future in the farm sector here.

Gagandeep Singh

Focus on systematic improvement

Every grain is invaluable, considering the seamless efforts, sacrifices and anguish of a farmer involved in producing it. The government must fathom this and make sure there is no glut of grain lying unused and uncared for in the markets, besides ensuring adequate, well-on-time remuneration to the farmers for their labour. It has been highlighted that the government warehouses remain unused, while the wheat rots in places like cremation grounds. There must be systematic procurement, lifting, storage and sale of grain. The entire process should be online and proper records be maintained, including that of payments. Then, there would be no inconvenience to any of the stakeholders with timely management of the entire procedure.

Anshika Kohli

Make grain lifting a time-bound exercise

During every kharif season, mandis often experience a glut due to concentrated surge in the supply of the foodgrain to the designated procurement markets in the state. All stakeholders, including farmers, are inconvenienced due to the lack of regular lifting of procured stock with matching speed of arrivals in the markets. There is a wide gap between daily arrivals and the daily lifting due to inadequate arrangements of local transportation and storage facilities from almost all procurement agencies. A few years ago, the Centre had prohibited the storage of purchased stock of grains on ‘covered and plinth’ (CAP) basis due to their alleged destruction and loss on a large scale, but keeping in view the glut problems, the government has now allowed the same. However, the system should be adopted with defined precautions to avoid zero wastage of grain. There should be a time-bound exercise of lifting the stock from CAP facilities to the buyers through designated modes of transportation.

Jagdish Chander

Create more space, build cold storage

Grain markets are experiencing a glut of foodgrain in different parts of the state, causing inconvenience to diligent and tenacious farmers. Due to the glut at procurement centres and markets, farmers have to sell their produce at prices less than the MSP. This is a perennial problem that the successive governments have failed to solve over the years. It seems no lessons are learnt and no serious steps are taken to end the problem once and for all. The first and foremost thing that the government should seriously look into is to build more storehouses in the state and making import and export easier and more efficient. Also, there is a need for cold storage to prevent the loss of fruits, vegetables. In addition, farmers can be told about best practices to manage their crop production and how to store the stock in pest-free manner.

Lakshit Jindal

Ensure timely lifting of wheat

Every rabi harvesting season, the Punjab Government makes tall claims of its preparedness to lift wheat from the mandis, but the ground reality is different. As the average yield is increasing every year in the country, the arrival of wheat in the grain markets has also increased. Tardy lifting leads to glut in the grain markets, leading to a serious space crunch in the mandis. Together with this, the inclement weather also plays a spoilsport. All these abnormalities cause great inconvenience to farmers, commission agents and labourers. How unfortunate and shameful it is that even after seventy five years of Independence, our governments have not been able to systematically procure and store the precious grain which the farmers produce after a lot of hard work under harsh winter and summer conditions! Due to sheer official mismanagement, food grains get wasted and farmers suffer huge losses. The government should ensure the timely lifting of wheat during every procurement season. For this, there should be ample supply of bags, the procurement staff should be closely monitored and the transport facilities should be readily available. The government should also build more sheds in grain markets and increase procurement agencies for the purpose. It should also formulate farmer-friendly policies to make agriculture a viable occupation.

DS Kang

Open more purchase centres

Due to unfavourable weather conditions, spurious seeds, fertilisers and pesticides and insecticides, and rigged markets, farmers in the state are always at the receiving end. Despite untimely rain, gusty winds and hailstorms, there has been a bumper wheat crop in Punjab and Haryana which are the country’s known bread basket states. But millions of tonnes of procured grain are still lying unlifted in mandis. Irrespective of the party in power, the successive state governments have failed to procure the crop in time every year, courtesy shortage of bags, staff crunch, indifferent attitude of officials concerned, delayed allotment of lifting tenders, bad weather etc. In the process, farmers, labourers and arhtiyas suffer equally. They are often forced to close the main gates of the mandis. When farmers do not find any space to unload their produce, they are compelled to do so in the open which delays procurement and leads to delayed disbursement of payments. Sometimes, the jute bags lying outside the sheds are exposed to the vagaries of weather. Thankfully, the Punjab Government has decided to bear the value cut on the lustre loss and broken and shriveled grains imposed by the Centre following crop damage caused by unexpected, unseasonal showers. The state government should make constructive plans to solve the problem of slow lifting and shortage of space. It should enhance the number of purchase centres and update the mandi infrastructure to avoid the unnecessary hassle.

Parvaan Singh Kang

Need for large warehousing facilities

Sometimes we read about starvation deaths due to the non-availability of foodgrain; ironically, when our state doesn’t have enough space to store grain. Hence, a completely new supply chain management system and logistics support is required to transport the produce from grain-excess states to the ones where there is a shortage. It happens every season that unseasonal rain spoils the quality of grain in Punjab and Haryana and thereafter the Central Government start deducting the amount of spoilage from the minimum support price offered to farmers. Large warehousing facilities are the need of the hour. Currently, it is the FCI that procures grain along with a few state agencies. The Central Government has already reduced the cess on wheat crop which has further reduced the income of the state. What Punjab needs to do is bring more private players for procurement; hence more incentives should be given to companies for early procurement of grain that already had a storage capacity. Moreover, Punjab should bring more diversified crops like pulses, oilseeds, spices, medicinal plants, etc., which have more demand. These can be a practical alternative to water-guzzling crops, like rice, which need more storage space.

Harvinder Singh Chugh

Need to have silos, godowns

Every year, farm products like wheat and paddy are procured in the grain market and left under the sky to face the inclement weather. Though there are a number of state and Central agencies involved in the procurement of farm products, but there is no synchronisation between the procurement and lifting of the products. State and Central agencies should take steps to lift the products just after the procurement. There is a need to have silos and covered godowns in private sectors for storage. Further, the general public should be encouraged for procurement of their yearly requirements of wheat. At the time of a G-20 conference in Amritsar in March, an exhibition of products from new start-ups was arranged at the local Khalsa College. In this exhibition a factory worker of Meerut displayed a pedal grinding machine developed by him for grinding of wheat for household use. Central government is giving subsidy on the same. But being uneducated and not conversant with modern marketing technique this product is not popular in the public. State government should take steps to popularise such products useful for the people. This pedal grinding machine serve the dual purpose, it grinds the wheat and also serve as good exercise equipment for the operator. Besides, household maid can easily operate it. The government should pay more attention to such out of box ideas that solve the problem of glut in the grain market at the time of procurement.

Nityanshi Chopra

Protect wheat from elements

Before the mechanisation of agriculture in Punjab, the harvesting of wheat used to be totally manual. Farmers would get their scythes, spades and other implements repaired and sharpened and arrange for as many hands as possible to reap the crop. There were many other activities like piling, threshing, winnowing and transporting the yield on bullock carts. But, in spite of their best efforts, it was a slow process, taking about a month. The glut of wheat that we now see in grain markets during the procurement season every year, is on account of the imbalance between wheat arrivals and their lifting. Thanks to thousands of combined harvesters, the entire wheat-growing area is cleared in a week’s time. Farmers bring their harvest on trolleys, get it weighed instantly, and after providing for cleaning and moisture, unload the entire trolley to be cleaned, dried and sold by the ‘Ahrhtya’ concerned to the procurement agency, as per their needs and specifications. The whole responsibility lies with the grain merchant, in case it rains. He knows that the moisture added by the rain will dry up in the summer sun soon. It is not possible or feasible to provide covered space for millions of bags. The faculty, if provided, would remain defunct and out of use throughout the year. It is necessary to ensure the availability of tarpaulins for cover during the rain. The area meant for the temporary stacking of bags must be a raised platform, hard and sloped for natural drainage. In any case, precious wheat should not be allowed to suffer the elements.

Prof Mohan Singh

Provide temporary infra for storage

An oversupply of a product, or a glut, is a problem because it can result in wastage and increased import costs for other necessary products. One solution to this problem would be to spread awareness among farmers about the fundamentals of supply and demand. By understanding basic economics, farmers can become aware of the need for diversified crop production, which can help alleviate storage issues and reduce the demand for imports. This approach can provide a solution to both the glut and overburdening of storage spaces. Besides, another factor to consider is the disorganised nature of storage spaces, which can result in a significant amount of grains being left unused due to damage caused by poor storage conditions. To address the issue, grain markets should be made more structured and organised with the introduction of temporary or portable infrastructure for storage. Such measures would effectively reduce the problem of gluts and lead to more efficient use of resources. Overall, addressing both the supply and storage sides of the issue can help reduce the negative impacts of a glut.

Chetan Verma

Lift procured grains well in time

During every procurement season, a glut-like situation prevails in mandis across the state, which results in inconvenience to farmers. The farmers are facing the problem due to lack of labour, logistic facilities, non-professional approach of the government, etc. The district administration can take various steps to overcome the problem and reduce the inconvenience to farmers. Moreover, the need of the hour is proper management. Furthermore, most necessarily logistics facilities should be provided for the early lifting of procured grains from the mandis. Such steps will resolve the farmers issue and make them financially sound.

Jasleen Kaur