Mustard farmers forced to sell produce below MSP as govt agencies yet to begin procurement
KARNAL: Despite the central government’s announcement of the hike of ₹225 per quintal in minimum support price (MSP) for mustard, taking it to ₹4,425, farmers in Haryana are being forced to sell their produce far below the MSP as the government procurement agencies have not started the process yet.
The harvesting of this largely grown oilseed in northern districts of Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Kaithal has already begun, but farmers are left with no other option but to sell their produce at ₹3,700 to ₹3,800 per quintal (black varieties) and ₹4,000-₹4,200 (yellow varieties) to private traders, bearing a loss of ₹4,000-₹6,000 per acre.
Aggrieved farmers allege that the government just announced the MSP, but failed to start the procurement process on time. Most of the farmers have got themselves registered under the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ scheme, which is mandatory to sell the produce on MSP, but they say that they do not know whether the government agencies will procure their produce or not. “Private traders are making the most of helpless farmers and procuring the produce at their own prices. I had to sell my produce at ₹3,600 per quintal in Kurukshetra’s Ladwa grain market,” claimed a farmer, Raghubir Singh, from Karnal’s Yunispur village.
Another farmer, Neeraj Kumar, who sold his produce of two acres at ₹4,000 per quintal in Indri grain market, alleged that private traders were also making deductions due to higher moisture content. “Why the government has fixed the MSP if it is not procuring the produce as per the convenience of farmers instead of fixing its own schedule. Uncertainty looms large and farmers prefer to sell their produce below the MSP,” said Haryana BKU president Gurnam Singh Chaduni.
“The harvesting in northern districts is at peak and mustard is being sold in all mandis, but the government has not begun the procurement in order to benefit the private traders,” he alleged. Farm leaders have asked the government to ensure that the procurement begins at every grain market in the first week of March.
Nafed is the central nodal agency for procurement of mustard in the country. In Haryana,
Hafed procures mustard from farmers for Nafed on the MSP.
Hafed general manager (procurement and warehousing) Arun Ahuja said, “We will begin the procurement from March 28 and as of now, at least 64 purchase centres have been finalised. The number of centres will be increased if required.”
NO PLAN TO ADVANCE PROCESS: HAFED
Hafed chairman Subhash Chander Katyal said, “There is no plan to advance the procurement process, which will start after March 28.” On farmers were being forced to sell the mustard below the MSP in absence of agencies, he said, “Now, the moisture content in the mustard is higher than the prescribed limits due to recent rainfall.”
In 2019, the government procured around 5.19 lakh MT mustard from the farmers who had registered themselves under the MFMB portal.