Farmers are facing great difficulty in selling moong at the support price in Madhya Pradesh.
06-Aug-2024 05:00 PM
Bhopal. The process of purchasing moong from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) in Madhya Pradesh has once again fallen into controversy, which has created a ruckus from the road to the Parliament. Farmers of the entire state have come out on the agitation.
They are angry with the purchase process being stopped midway and are protesting against the government.
This year there has been a good production of moong in Madhya Pradesh and the government had also assured its purchase at the support price, but due to its not being fully followed, there is anger and dissatisfaction among the farmers.
In view of the strong protest of the farmers, the state government extended the deadline for the purchase of summer moong and allowed slot booking for just one day on August 1.
But due to technical fault in the software, many farmers could not get success in slot booking. Farmers who did not get success in booking are being forced to sell their produce at a very low price in the open market.
The price of moong in the open market is running between Rs 6500 to Rs 8000 per quintal, which is much below the minimum support price of Rs 9558 per quintal.
Many farmers are suffering losses of up to Rs 2000 per quintal. Opposition leaders say that on August 1, the slot booking portal closed after being operational for only 2-3 hours, due to which thousands of farmers were deprived of booking.
On the other hand, the market price of moong is much below the support price. Not only this, but irregularities are also being done in the procurement process.
At some centers, farmers are being charged Rs 5 to 10 thousand per trolley. Apart from this, farmers are forced to give extra quantity of moong by claiming poor quality at the procurement centers.
Farmers are facing many problems and challenges since the beginning of the procurement season. Although the government had extended the deadline for moong procurement till August 5, but it did not work.
It is noteworthy that the Union Agriculture Minister has given assurance of purchasing 100% surplus quantity of Tuvar, Urad and Masur but in his own home state, moong producers are protesting.