Procurement blues in Amritsar

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 20

After unseasonal rain over the last few months damaged wheat crop in the region, farmers are now apprehensive about the procurement of their produce as excessive moisture content and discolouration may hamper it.

Talking to The Tribune, Veer Singh, a farmer, said they are bearing double brunt of erratic weather conditions. “Firstly, the yield of our wheat crop has gone down drastically and secondly, the quality of whatever we have reaped is not up to the mark,” he said. He said if they had reaped between 20 and 22 quintals of wheat per acre last year, this year the yield has gone down to 13 to 14 quintals per acre.

Another farmer, Gurwinder Singh, said the quality of wheat crop had suffered as there was excessive moisture in the produce. Besides, grains are discoloured or shrivelled. Dilbagh Singh, a farmer from Bhikhiwind, feared that the threat of more damage to crop was still looming large as overcast weather conditions were being witnessed in the region.

Sources said wheat arriving in the grain markets here have moisture content ranging between 14 and 15 per cent as against the specified norm of 12 per cent. Similarly, the quantity of discoloured grain or shrivelled grain of wheat is also on the higher side. Incidentally, the wheat arrival in the grain markets is yet to gain momentum. The grain market at Amritsar has received around 2,500 quintals of wheat till now and the figure is 3,000 quintals for the Tarn Taran grain market. Sources said wheat arriving in the grain market of Ajnala has moisture content as high as 17 per cent.

Meanwhile, Amritsar Chief Agriculture Officer BS Chhina said they are apprehending a drop of 5 to 10 per cent in the yield of wheat. He said the government must relax moisture content limit and raise it to at least 14 per cent. “If the government doesn’t procure discoloured/shrivelled grain, farmers will suffer huge losses,” he added. He said more rainfall now could spell doom for farmers.

Jamhuri Kisan Sabha, Punjab, chief Satnam Singh Ajnala said the government must step in to the rescue of the beleaguered farming community at their hour of crisis by relaxing norms for the procurement of wheat. He also sought Rs 500 per quintal bonus on wheat to compensate for the significant decline in its yield this time. — With inputs from Gurbaxpuri in Tarn Taran