Punjab farmers reject e-tokens, say process too cumbersome

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, April 16

Sukhpal Singh, a small farmer in Kanakwal Bhanguan village of Sangrur district, says he has started praying regularly to calm his nerves.

“I have been told by the commission agent that I can get the crop to the mandi on April 27. But the combine harvester from the neighbouring village will be available to me on April 18. My crop will have to be stored in the open for almost nine days as I have no space. I just pray the weather remains favourable and I can get the reward for my produce,” he says.

Sukhpal Singh is among the 17 lakh farmers of Punjab who are busy harvesting their crop in the time of Covid. Farmers like him have never faced so much confusion. With harvesting on at a full swing, panic has gripped them as they contemplate on how and where to stock the grain till they get an e-token to transport the grain to mandis. Even understanding the nuances of getting e-tokens is beyond farmers’ comprehension.

It is for the first time that every aspect of wheat harvest — from procurement and lifting to storage — is being done under a tech-driven system, introduced by the government through the Punjab State Agriculture Marketing Board. The farmers, though aware of the new technology, find themselves “mobile-technology challenged” to reap the crop and take it to mandis.

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Dallewal, says putting in place a technology was not enough when a majority of farmers did not know how to validate the e-tokens on mobiles. “I have a standing crop on 20 acres in Dallewal village of Faridkot. The crop will be harvested now, but will be taken to the market after a week according to the date assigned to me. With labour unavailable, how will I lift the grain stored in the open and load it on the truck?” he asks.

Jagjit says the government should have set up multiple weighbridges in each block and asked farmers to bring their produce there.

Supporting his argument, Amrik Singh, a farmer in Ganduan village near Sunam, says every time he sees an overcast sky, his heart skips a beat.

“All of my family members are involved in harvesting as we want to have as many hands as possible because of labour shortage. The other scary aspect for farmers is the management of wheat straw, which we are forbidden to reap through straw reapers till May 1. Fire incidents take place when the straw catches fire. Since there is time between harvesting and sale of wheat, farmers should be allowed to immediately reap the straw to avoid any fires,” he said.

Sutantar Kumar Airi, Director, Agriculture, says all employees of the department along with the staff of the Punjab Mandi Board were continuously in touch with farmers and were offering innovative and customised solutions to any problems being faced by them.