High moisture content major hurdle in wheat procurement in Haryana
However, the farmers who have bought their crops to the mandis are facing delays in the procurement due to the presence of excess moisture content in the crop
Given the delay in harvesting, the mandis are recording slow arrival of crops even after 10 days of the start of wheat procurement in the state.
However, the farmers who have bought their crops to the mandis are facing delays in the procurement due to the presence of excess moisture content in the crop.
At Karnal grain market on Wednesday, a handful of farmers were seen waiting for their crops, having higher moisture content, to dry. Some were also seen getting help from the labourers to clean it.
Farmers were also hopeful to get the full price as their crops suffered negligible damage despite the adverse weather conditions.
Officials said the wheat coming to the mandis has a moisture content between 15% and 18%, while government agencies procure wheat with moisture content up to 12%, thus making it hard for the peasants to sell their crops.
Similar instances were seen at the grain markets of Assandh and Gharounda, among 23 purchase centres in the district, where farmers have to wait till it fulfils the required norms for procurement on Maximum Support Price (MSP) at ₹2,275 per quintal.
Satpal Singh, a farmer from Assandh said that he had to wait due to moisture content in his crop, for a day at the mandi that is already half full with wheat arrival.
At Gharounda, the arrival was picked only on Monday with nearly 10,000 quintals of wheat reaching the mandi.
Gharounda market committee secretary Chandar Prakash said that in most of the lots, the moisture has been found to be more than the norms.
“The purchase agencies have been asked to buy the crop following the government norms. I would appeal to the farmer that as the temperature is rising, they should wait for harvesting and only bring the crop to the mandi which are following the norms so that they don’t have to wait,” he added.
Talking about other issues, Vinod Kumar, a local farmer, said that he had grown wheat on nearly 10 acres of land which was harvested on Tuesday.
“Facilities at the mandi are satisfactory. However, cattle and pigeons eat up the produce lying in the sheds, if not taken care of. Sometimes, a farmer has to remain awake overnight to protect them. The authorities should look into this problem,” he said.
Another farmer, Pirsi Kumar from Kachhwa said that the government should allow their counterparts in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to sell their crop in Haryana.
“Our Prime Minister used to say that a farmer could sell his produce anywhere in the country, but here in Haryana, they are not allowing them to sell wheat in their mandis. This should change,” he said.
IMD issues rain warning
Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning in view of the active Western Disturbance that is likely to affect northwest India from April 12.
In a statement, the weatherman warned of light to moderate rain at many places over Haryana and Chandigarh on April 13 and 14 and at a few places on April 15, accompanied by thunderstorms and hailstorms at isolated places on March 13 with a fall in temperature by 3 to 5 degree Celsius.
The IMD also issued an advisory in view of wheat harvesting. It has asked the peasants to keep harvested crops in a safe place, make arrangements for draining of excess water from the fields, avoid irrigation due to expected rain/thunderstorm activity and follow detailed agro-advisories.