Admitting that farmers are facing shortage of labourers at the time of harvesting of rabi crops, the Centre has asked the State Governments to issue necessary instructions to facilitate selling of produce by farmers at their doorsteps and also to ensure smooth inter-State and intra-State movement of machines used for harvesting and sowing, such as combine harvesters. The directive is meant to achieve two objectives - to decongest mandis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and to allow farmers to sell their products at remunerative prices by allowing aggregators to source it directly from them.
The ministry has also issued an order increasing procurement from 25 quintals per day per farmer to 40 quintals per day per farmers
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who held a video conference with State agriculture ministers and other State officials, also informed them that the kharif national conference will be held on April 16 through video conferencing. During the discussion, various issues relating to harvest procurement, availability of inputs, credit, insurance and inter-State movement of agriculture produce came up. While some of these issues were solved immediately, other issues requiring deliberations were noted with the assurance to the States that they would be looked into and necessary action would be taken in due course.
At the meeting, states have stated theat acute scarcity of labour has posed a serious challenge to crop procurement and is threatening to leave a lasting impact on agriculture as it will delay the harvest of winter-sown crops, particularly wheat, and is delaying the planting of the next crop. Apart from procurement, planting of cotton and summer ‘moong’ pulses is a challenge for farmers in Madhya Pradesh, UP,
Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan because of concerns of labour shortage as well as availability of fertilisers and seeds.
Sources said that the Centre also the States to issue authorisation letters to companies and organisations having a nationwide supply chain of essential goods, allowing them to issue regional passes for easy movement of critical staff and workers to maintain their supply chain.
The video conference assumes importance as quick and effective policy responses are required to be taken as farmers prepare for the kharif (summer) season during the time of lockdown. Kharif sowing begins with the onset of the June-September south-west monsoon.
In a statement, the agriculture ministry said that Kharif National Conference will be held on April 16, 2020, through video conferencing.
A decision in this regard was taken after reviewing the relief measures taken for farmers with state agriculture ministers and senior officials through a video conference on Wednesday.
Normally, about 106 million hectares are planted during the kharif crop season. While the onset of monsoon kick-starts sowing in June, which continues through mid-July, harvesting of crops begins by October.
Besides holding the kharif conference, Tomar in the meeting asked State Governments to sensitise field agencies about exemptions given to the farm-related activities and allow movement of farm produce, farming products, fertilisers and farm implements and machinery.
In the meeting, the crucial issues related to farming operations and harvesting, agriculture marketing and mandi operations, procurement at minimum support price (MSP), provision of inputs (seeds and fertilisers), and issues related to logistics and movement of agriculture and horticulture produce were discussed.
Tomar also appreciated the proactive steps taken by the State Governments to ensure agriculture activities even during the challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic.