Toil continues, farmers hit procurement hurdles

The kharif crop procurement figures this season indicate how farmers have suffered, with  agencies dithering over the purchase. While bajra, cotton, and moong growers have been forced to sell produce at throwaway prices, the procurement of paddy has been marred by allegations of corruption across Haryana.

When harvesting began about a month ago, farmers were already battered by excessive rains, which damaged most crops, including cotton, bajra, moong, maize, and paddy. They had expected some relief in the form of MSP for their produce as senior government functionaries had assured them that “every grain will be procured at MSP”.

The figures, however, tell a different story. Cotton farmers are among the worst affected in Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad region—known as the cotton belt of Haryana. Being sensitive to unseasonal rains, the quality of cotton deteriorated, reducing its market value.

Om Prakash, a cotton farmer from Khajuri village in Fatehabad, said he had sown it in 7 acres. “I got Rs 6,500 per quintal in the open market, while MSP is Rs 8,910 for 28 MM quality and Rs 7,860 for 27 MM,” he said.

Anil Kumar from Dhangar village had to sell to private traders due to the absence of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) in the market. The CCI usually intervenes when prices fall below MSP, but this time it stayed away, reportedly citing poor crop quality. Haryana has around 3.8 lakh hectares under cotton cultivation this year.

Bajra—grown in Hisar, Bhiwani, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Jhajjar districts, faced a similar fate. Agencies refused to procure, citing discolouration. Officials say they were awaiting revised specifications from the Centre, but none were issued, forcing farmers to sell below MSP. Data from the Food and Supplies Department revealed that 146.40 MT had been purchased from 111 farmers until the morning of November 8, whereas the total arrival was 5,89,278.95 MT.

To compensate, the government announced an incentive of Rs 575 per quintal under Bhavantar Bharpai Yojna (BBY), in addition to MSP of Rs 2,200. However, most farmers sold their produce for Rs 1,800-Rs 1,900 per quintal.  Sources said the introduction of BBY has opened floodgates for corruption, with fraudsters siphoning off funds worth crores through fake registrations.

Agencies have not procured even a single grain of moong, and purchased just 2.4 MT of maize from one farmer so far. Meanwhile, the purchase of paddy remained controversial amid allegations of irregularities. Data shows that over 59 lakh MT of paddy has arrived this year—around 5 lakh MT more than last year—despite rain-related losses.

Shockingly, the arrival of paddy in mandis today was recorded at 59,03,015.94 MT, while the purchase (as per J-forms) stood at 61,09,787.27 MT—higher than the arrival. The lifting figure stood at 59,80,096.32 MT.

Dr Ram Kanwar, a former HAU scientist, said the discrepancies in the government's data "speak volumes about the deep-rooted corruption in procurement.” Despite attempts, the Food and Civil Supplies Minister could not be contacted.