Rain adds to woes of sunflower farmers

Kurukshetra, June 10

A spell of untimely rain on Saturday exacerbated the difficulties faced by sunflower farmers who were already struggling and protesting to secure the MSP for their oilseed crop.

Farmers and labourers, who had spread sunflower seeds for cleaning and drying, were seen collecting rain-soaked seeds at the Shahabad grain market.

Farmers and the state government have been at loggerheads over the prices of sunflower seeds. Meanwhile, uncertain weather has left farmers, who held back their produce instead of selling it below the MSP of Rs 6,400 per quintal, worried.

Jeevan Ram, a farmer from Shahabad, said he had brought nearly 2 acres of his produce to get it cleaned, only to see the crop being washed away by heavy rain accompanied by strong winds. He urged the government to procure the crop at the MSP and compensate farmers for their losses.

Kapil Kumar, another farmer, said, “On the one hand, we were fighting against the government to get the MSP, and on the other hand, a substantial quantity of sunflower seeds got damaged due the untimely rain. My produce, covering nearly 3 acres, is now lying in pools of water. It is going to be a bad season for sunflower farmers.”

Sanju Gundiana, BKU (Charuni) leader, emphasised the vulnerability of sunflower crops, noting that it could quickly be destroyed by strong winds or rain. “While we were holding a dharna outside the grain market for the MSP, hundreds of quintals of seeds got drenched and washed away. Though farmers and labourers are making efforts to collect the seeds and dry them, the quality of rain-soaked seeds will be a matter of concern.”

Arshpal Singh, son of BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh voiced farmers’ frustration, stating that the weather has been unpredictable. He warned that if the government does not meet the farmers’ demands, they would be compelled to take decisive action during the mahapanchayat on June 12, emphasising that they would settle for nothing less than the MSP.