Huge resentment among farmers over slow pace of paddy procurement in Punjab

29-Oct-2024 04:07 PM

Jalandhar. On one hand, there are indications of a great production of paddy in Punjab during the current year, on the other hand, the pace of its government procurement is very slow due to which farmers are facing great difficulty in selling their produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

There is no place to store paddy in the mandis because the lifting of the stock of paddy purchased by government agencies is happening at a very slow pace.

Although the Union Food Minister is repeatedly assuring that every grain of paddy will be purchased from the farmers in Punjab, it is important to keep in mind that in the state, Rabi crops and especially wheat are sown early and hence farmers want to sell their paddy as soon as possible.

Some farmer organizations have alleged that the Central Government is deliberately keeping the pace of paddy procurement slow because there is already a huge stock of rice in the central pool and paddy is to be purchased in other producing states as well.

For the last few weeks, the farmers of Punjab are very worried, upset and angry as they are having to struggle hard to sell their produce. Farmers' protests are going on at about 60 places in Punjab.

Thousands of farmers are participating in it. In Patiala district, the sale of paddy harvested 8-10 days ago has not been possible yet, although it has been brought to the procurement centers.

Government agencies are now refusing to buy paddy citing high moisture content, while lack of storage space is also being used as an excuse. At many places, it is also being discussed that paddy will not be purchased.

Farmers had blocked the Patiala-Sangrur road on October 25. The officials calmed the matter by giving assurance of purchasing paddy, but the procurement process has not started yet.

The paddy procurement season in the state started from October 1, but its pace remained slow from the beginning.

This time a target of purchasing 185 lakh tonnes of paddy (124 lakh tonnes of rice) has been set in Punjab, but it seems difficult to achieve it.