Slow start to mustard procurement in Haryana as farmers turn to private buyers

Mustard procurement in Haryana saw a slow start, with farmers largely opting to sell their produce to the private players who offered them higher prices and instant payments.

Despite the MSP being fixed at Rs 6,200 per quintal, farmers were forced to sell to private traders at prices ranging from Rs 5,300 to Rs 5,800.

Haryana has commenced mustard procurement on March 28. This year, the state government plans to procure approximately 13 lakh tonnes of mustard. Out of this, 25 per cent will be procured under the Price Support Scheme through central agencies (NAFED and NCCF), while the remaining 75 per cent will be procured by state agencies (HAFED and Haryana State Warehousing Corporation) in a 50:50 ratio.

Officials informed that for wheat procurement, 416 mandis have been designated in the state; 112 mandis for mustard, 25 for barley, 11 for gram, and seven mandis for lentil have been identified.

This year, all mandis have been geo-fenced for procurement operations. All gate passes for incoming farmers will be issued through the e-Kharid mobile app.

Similarly, during the bidding process, biometric verification of the farmer registered on the "Meri Fasal Mera Byora" portal, or any one of their three authorised representatives, will be mandatory.

Opposition targets state government

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda launched a sharp attack, stating that government procurement remained completely stalled in over 90% of the state’s mandis, while thousands of farmers spent their day sweating in lines from 5 am to 7 pm.

“Despite the government setting a procurement target of 13 lakh metric tonnes, the chaos on the first day raises serious questions about both their intent and preparation. The arrival of mustard across the state has exceeded 1.2 lakh quintals, but government agencies have failed to procure even 5% of it. This clearly proves that the government has no intention of buying,” he said.

Sources said in Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, Rewari, Rohtak, and several other districts, the farmers complained of the malfunction of the E-Kharid portal.

Due to server crashes, nearly 70 per cent errors in data verification, and non-updated systems, farmers could not even obtain gate passes. Most of the farmers were turned away under the pretext of "record not matching.

Dhanda said that due to mismanagement, there was a shortage of gunny bags (bardana), weighing scales, and adequate labor. Basic amenities like drinking water, toilets, and seating areas were also missing.

The wheat procurement is scheduled to start on April 1.

Recently, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) national president Abhay Singh Chautala had approached the Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh at Raj Bhavan seeking his intervention in redressing the farmers’ woes due to faulty procurement programmes of the government. He had announced plans to set up Farmers’ Grievance Redressal Centers in mandis to help the peasants sell their produce without hassles.