Not happy with compensation, say Haryana sunflower farmers
Haryana sunflower farmers termed it an attempt to thwart their gathering at the Pipli Mahapanchayat called by various farmer associations on June 12. “This announcement will not have any impact on the farmers as the rally is being organised against the police brutality on farmers,” said 67-year-old Pritam Singh of Mahdodan village.
Sunflower growers, who are demanding a minimum support price of ₹6,400 per quintal, are not happy with the compensation announced by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. They termed it an attempt to thwart their gathering at the Pipli Mahapanchayat called by various farmer associations on June 12.
“This announcement will not have any impact on the farmers as the rally is being organised against the police brutality on farmers,” said 67-year-old Pritam Singh of Mahdodan village.
He alleged that the police targeted elderly farmers. “I was cane-charged while farmers were running to protect themselves from police batons. Now, more than sunflower, self-respect is the issue,” he added.
Nihal Singh (65), a resident of Salempur village, who has been camping at the Shahbad grain market for the past three days to sell his produce, said, “We are with our leaders. The government is trying to lure us by offering us a petty amount of ₹1,000 per quintal, but they cannot stop us from reaching Pipli on June 12.”
Baljeet Singh, a young farmer from Sulkhani village, said, “We will take the money but will also take part in the rally as we cannot leave Gurnam Singh Charuni alone. Now, he needs our support, and the rally will be a launchpad for the new movement for guaranteed MSP”.
Even as the government is claiming that private traders were showing interest in buying sunflower seeds, most of the produce lying in mandis are unsold. As per figures, Hafed has procured only 101 MT of sunflower seed so far. However, the lifting has not been started yet and the entire procured sunflower seed is lying in mandis.
“We have to pay ₹100 per quintal as labour charges as we had to dry the crop and we take it back again as we have to wait until the government agencies start procurement on the MSP,” said Ranveer Singh, who has 10 acres under sunflower in Katlahari village of Kurukhetra.
Out of the total 37,000 acreage under sunflower, over 70% is grown in the Shahbad and Ismailabad blocks of Kurukshetra district. “Most of the farmers grow two crops a year. Sunflower helps us get additional income of around ₹50,000 per acre. Even potato farmers want to grow sunflower as it helps them to bear the losses of potatoes if the prices fall below ₹10 per kg,” said Rajeev Sharma, a farmer.
Farmers said that the government’s decision not to buy sunflower seed at MSP of ₹6,400 per quintal has not only reduced the prices but also made the farmers a worried lot. They feel that in the absence of government agencies, private buyers will not buy their entire produce.
“This is the beginning of the harvesting season and now the prices have fallen to around ₹4,500 per quintal. This is because government agencies are not buying at the MSP. “We are sure that once the agitation is over, the prices will fall further,” said farmer Dharamvir of Kalsana village.
On the other hand, farm leaders are visiting every village to seek support for the Pipli Mahapanchayat which they believe will set the stage for the beginning of a new movement for the MSP in the country. Moreover, the Shahbad police action has united several farmer unions of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. “This agitation is not limited to sunflower farmers only, but it has become a national-level movement and lakhs of farmers will reach Pipli to take the final call,” said BKU (Charuni) leader Sanju Gundiana.