Demand grows for FCI centre at Mand

Strap: Farmers earlier sold paddy in Punjab, but were declined procurement this year

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, September 26

Hundreds of farmers of the Mand area in Indora subdivision of Kangra district are a harried lot after they were declined procurement of their paddy crop at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) centres in neighbouring Punjab. As a result, the demand for a permanent FCI procurement centre in the area has gained momentum.

Sources said paddy is produced on around 2,500 hectares in the Mand area, known for wheat, maize and paddy, besides sugarcane crop. The FCI, for the first time, had started procuring wheat at two centres in Kangra district — Thakurdwara and Fatehpur. The farmers had sold their wheat produce at these centres until June 15 on the maximum support price (MSP). Farmers of Mand, which borders Punjab, earlier sold their paddy crop at FCI centres in Mukerian of Hoshiarpur district. But this year, the Punjab Government had declined to procure crops of farmers of other states.

Raj Kumar Bhardwaj, secretary, Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Kangra, told The Tribune that a distressing situation had arisen after the Punjab Government declined the procurement. The APMC would try its best to set up a procurement centre in Mand before the next harvesting season, after interacting with local farmers about the most suitable location. The Agriculture Department is constructing a grain market at Milwan in Indora subdivision, the foundation stone of which was laid earlier this year, he added.

Meanwhile, progressive farmers Suresh Singh of Malkana, Anoop Singh and Sat Pal of Thakurdwara and Ranbir Singh and Ajay Singh of Chatta village said the procurement of cereals at MSP was a long-standing demand of the Mand farmers and the FCI should act on it so that growers do not fall prey to private players and sell their yield at a throwaway price.

Suresh Pathania, president of the Kangra Kisan Union, has sought a permanent solution to the problem by setting up makeshift procurement centres at Fatehpur and Indora for the time being. He lamented that last year too, small and marginal farmers had a tough time selling their paddy and maize crop in the district in the absence of buyers.