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Progressive FPO alleges official apathy in buying paddy in Rupnagar
Farmer from Rupnagar’s Fasse village and director of the FPO, Harpreet Singh said PB-12 was granted arthiya licence at Chamkaur Sahib for three years. Last year, FPO’s paddy purchase operation was held at rented premises
One-and-a-half year after scripting a maiden success story last rabi marketing season by venturing into the business of arhtiyas or commission agents, a farmer producer organisation (FPO), PB-12, is now facing a bleak future.
Formed by enterprising farmers of Rupnagar district, PB-12, which is the vehicle registration code of the district, has been directed by the Punjab mandi board authorities to stop buying paddy this season.
Upset over the official apathy, the FPO urges the chief minister to intervene by either providing them adequate and permanent space in mandi or like three purchase seasons since 2021, allowing them to buy foodgrain from a rented place in the vicinity of Chamkaur Sahib mandi.
A mandi board functionary said the district allotment committee headed by the deputy commissioner can allow purchase centres out of the mandi campus in special cases.
A 33-year-old farmer from Rupnagar’s Fasse village and director of the FPO, Harpreet Singh said PB-12 was granted arthiya licence at Chamkaur Sahib for three years from 2021 onwards.
Last year, the FPO’s paddy purchase operation was held at rented premises that is about 100-metres from the mandi complex.
“We have an arthiya licence but citing shortage of space, the FPO was allowed to work from outside the mandi in the last kharif purchase season. As this time again, we started buying paddy from our members, officials of the mandi board and warehouse, state government’s procurement agency, have asked us to stop working,” he added.
The FPO buys foodgrain from its members on the behalf of the state procurement agencies.
“Profit gained by FPOs is used to give short-term loans to members to buy seeds, fertilisers or farm implements at a nominal rate of interest,” said Harpreet.
The FPO hopes to buy 8,000 quintals and a temporary and narrow site offered to them in the mandi on Monday evening is insufficient to dry moist paddy, he added.
In April last year, it started with purchasing over 3,100 quintals of wheat in the last year followed by 8,200 quintals of non-basmati varieties from 50 members.
Harpreet’s team member and a resident of adjoining Sherpur Basti village in Ludhiana district Parinder Singh said Initially farmers and arhtiyas saw us with suspicion as none of them had ever seen a farmers’ group buying the produce. But the response of the officials is disappointing, he said.
“Since last year, we were procuring wheat for Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (Punsup) and paddy for the Warehouse. Our FPO of venturing into agribusiness could have become a change maker to motivate farmers for crop diversification. But we being forced to shelve the concept of FPO in less than two years of inception,” said Parinder, a commerce graduate, who worked with a private bank for 10 years before taking farming full time.
Rupnagar DC Preeti Yadav was unavailable for comments. District mandi officer Nirmal Singh Puhal said that no temporary purchase centre has been earmarked.
“The matter of the FPO facing hardship has not been brought to my knowledge. I will look into the matter,” said Puhal.
