Punjab Government is yet to put in place a system of wheat procurement. Five farmers' suicide cases and assurances by the Government notwithstanding, the procurement process in Punjab is moving at a snail's pace.
Farmers are still facing difficulties in selling their produce owing to lustre loss and high moisture content. Moreover, the procurement agencies are apprehensive in buying the damaged grains. “The agencies are not ready to buy damaged grains with moisture higher than eight percent as they fear that the FCI (Food Corporation of India) would not pass it later,” State Agriculture Minister Tota Singh told The Pioneer.
Singh, who was in Moga grain market on Friday, said that he was supervising the operations in grain markets, and ensuring that farmers' produce be bought. On the other hand, Bharti Kisan Union national president Bhupinder Singh Mann said that despite Agriculture Minister’s presence in Moga mandi, “only 60 per cent grains have been lifted while 40 per cent are still lying there under open sky”.
Mann claimed that the situation in most of the parts of the state was not satisfactory as the farmers are still at the receiving end. “Their wait seems unending. There are many farmers in the grain markets at Khanna, Batala, Sangrur, besides some others, who are sitting with their grains since past three-four days and there are no buyers to take that,” said Mann.
He added, “In Gurdaspur's Batala mandi, no Government agency turned up to lift the produce, and the private agencies have bought the wheat at low rates. Some gave Rs1,390, some Rs1320…there is no relief in sight for the farmers yet."
At the same time, Punjab Mandi Board chairman Ajmer Singh lakhowal has expressed satisfaction over the way the procurement process is picking up.
"We have procured around six lakh metric tonnes wheat on Thursday and are expecting that today the figure would cross eight lakhs MT…we would match the previous year's figures in next few days," he said.
lakhowal said that the Government's decision and announcements of giving full MSP and buying every single grain has started showing favourable results.
"The Government has announced that they would bear the entire cost of value cut being imposed by the Centre," he added. Punjab cabinet, on Wednesday, had decided to purchase all wheat, even if does not meet the specifications, at the fixed MSP of Rs1,450 per quintal. The Government has also announced that it would bear the price of value cut, imposed by the Centre.
However, lakhowal rued the apathetic attitude of the Central Government for not giving relaxations in specifications of the procuring wheat as provided to the other States, including the neighbouring Haryana. "Centre has relaxed specifications in Haryana, Himachal, Uttar Pradesh, and many other states, but not to Punjab. This is completely wrong," he said.
Giving relief to the farmers affected with heavy rain and hailstorm in Haryana, the Centre has already reduced value cut for shrivelled and broken wheat grains to relax procurement norms further.
The value cut in respect of shrivelled and broken grains will be allowed at one-fourth of one value cut for every additional relaxation of two percent or part thereof. As such, Rs3.63 per quintal, at the MSP of Rs1450 per quintal, will be deducted on wheat having shrivelled and broken grains above six percent up to eight percent and in case of wheat having shriveled and broken grains above eight percent up to 10 per cent, value cut of Rs7.25 per quintal will be deducted.
The value cut in respect of lustre loss grains will be one-fourth of one value cut on flat basis or Rs3.63 per quintal for lustre loss grains above 10 per cent and up to 50 per cent. Despite witnessing five farmers' suicides following recent unseasonal rains and hailstorms, the Punjab Government has failed to pursue the Centre against imposing a value cut on wheat procurement in case of broken, shrivelled grains and grains with lustre loss.