Haryana: Delay in procurement pushing farmers into crisis, says Sampat

In a statement, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader said the “anti-farmer policies” of BJP led Haryana government and the collapse of the procurement system have aggravated farmers’ problems

Former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh on Friday said that delays in the procurement of paddy and bajra, crop purchase at prices lower than the minimum support price (MSP) and crop damage caused by rain are pushing farmers into a severe financial crisis.

According to the data, the total arrival of paddy in mandis has reached approximately 21 lakh tonnes, but only half of the produce has been sold so far. (HT File)

In a statement, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader said the “anti-farmer policies” of BJP led Haryana government and the collapse of the procurement system have aggravated farmers’ problems. “Farmers are now being forced to run from one mandi to another to sell their produce. Rain has damaged paddy lying in fields and mandis while delays in government procurement and the slow pace of lifting have worsened the crisis more,’’ he said.

The paddy procurement figures raise serious questions about the functioning of the government. The total arrival of paddy in mandis has reached approximately 21 lakh tonnes, but only half of the produce has been sold so far, and merely one-third has been lifted. Similarly, the arrival of bajra has reached 3,35,682 tonnes, but only about half has been procured, Singh said.

“The MSP for PR paddy has been fixed at ₹2,461 per quintal, but in the absence of government procurement, farmers are being forced to sell their produce for just ₹2,000 to ₹2,100 per quintal. Consequently, they are suffering a loss of ₹361 to ₹461 per quintal. This is not merely a market problem, it is the result of the failure of the government procurement system. Announcing MSP is not enough, he said, farmers must have the opportunity to sell their crops at that price. Singh said situation regarding bajra was equally alarming. “Despite the announced MSP of ₹2,900 per quintal, farmers are receiving only ₹1,900 to ₹2,000 per quintal in the open market. They are thus suffering losses of ₹900 to ₹1,000 per quintal.

Claims of providing MSP for 24 crops remain meaningless unless farmers actually receive its benefits. All restrictive conditions imposed on procurement should be removed,’’ the former minister maintained.

Accusing the BJP government of apathy, former chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday also demanded that the government should fulfil its promise to procure paddy at ₹3,100 per quintal,

“Procurement is not proceeding smoothly. Farmers are trapped in a series of issues, including problems with gate passes, verification processes, procurement limits, long traffic jams, and excessive waiting times,” he said.

Hooda alleged that the dishonesty towards farmers has reached a point that even the moisture-testing machines have been found to be tampered with.

“When the same batch of produce was tested using three different machines, the moisture levels recorded were inconsistent,’’ Hooda alleged.