Jaipur: With the wheat procurement by government agencies on hold in Rajasthan amidst the lockdown, farmers are forced to sell wheat at a rate much below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to local buyers at the state-operated mandis.
In the Kota division, farmers have been selling wheat at a price as low as Rs 1,684 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 1,925 per quintal set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the year 2020-21.
Rinku Meena, a farmer from Khatauli village in Pipalda tehsil of Kota district, sold his 22 quintals of wheat at the rate of Rs 1,684 per quintal to a local wholesaler, on April 16.
The receipt of Rinku Meena’s wheat sale at the rate of Rs 1,684 per quintal at the mandi.
Meena says that he is not a titled owner of the land where he cultivates his crops and is hence not eligible to register for crop procurement by the government agencies.
“The registration requires land record details. Many marginal farmers like me don’t have titles over the land on which they cultivate their produce. So, the only option that we have is to sell to wholesalers or retailers at the mandis at a rate which is mostly below the MSP,” Meena told The Wire.
Meanwhile, false information justifying falling wheat prices as a contribution to the COVID-19 relief fund is also being circulated in rural areas.
Gaubari Lal, another farmer from Hadauti region of Rajasthan, said that the buyer tells them that the rates are lower than the MSP because about Rs 200 is deducted from every purchase to contribute to COVID-19 funds.
Meanwhile, the Mandi authorities have blamed the fall in prices on “deteriorating quality” of wheat.
“Rates of wheat have fallen because of the high moisture content in the crops. Even, the moisture-laden produce is not charged below Rs 1,700 per quintal at our mandi. It’s an open auction system at the mandis, what could be done?” Mangi Lal Jatav, a mandi secretary in Kota told The Wire.
The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 provides for grading and marking of agricultural produce, to ascertain its quality in terms of weight, shape, colour, texture, moisture content, stage of maturity and presence of disease or physical deformity.
Grading is the most essential part of the procurement operation because without proper grading, farmers will not get a good price for their produce.
Most of the farmers who have stored crops at their homes, in the absence of procurement operations during the lockdown, are worried about the rain, which adds to the moisture in the produce, thereby fetching them a lower price.
In Rajasthan, E-mitra, an e-governance service platform, has been suspended amid the lockdown, making it impossible for farmers to begin registering themselves for the procurement process.
Also Read: Rajasthan: Crop Procurement Portal ‘Suspended’ Amidst Lockdown, Rates Fall Below MSP
Registration is must if a farmer wants his or her produce to be procured by government agencies at the MSP. It involves submitting personal information and land details in a pre-designed form on the co-operative department’s portal.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, during a video conference with journalists on Sunday, said that the government’s procurement operations resumed in Kota on April 16 while the crop procurement portal was still suspended. However, the farmers say the system is functioning with limited resources and is currently overloaded.
Sonu Kumar, a farmer from Kota who sold his wheat produce at the Khatauli Mandi on April 18 at a rate of Rs 1,710 per quintal, says registering at the government portal for procurement is a futile exercise at the moment.
“Last year, we registered for mustard and gram and received the token a month later. This time, things are even worse. No one knows when the token will arrive and the government will begin procuring the crop. Even if, local buyers are paying less, at least we are getting some amount. In April, farmers have to repay the lenders and it can’t be postponed,” said Kumar.
In fact, local authorities have also pointed out that the procurement centres established in the district are not enough to accommodate all the farmers.
The sub-divisional officer at the Itawa tehsil in Kota has also written to the district collector on April 18 requesting that more procurement centres should be established to meet the demand.
The letter written by the sub-division officer to the district collector requesting more procurement centres to meet the demand.
He said the Pipalda tehsil in Kota has a sowing area of 40,250 hectares with the productivity of 45 quintals/ hectare. With a total wheat production of 1,81,125 metric tonnes, the tehsil has established only seven procurement centres this time.
He claimed that if the number of procurement centres is not increased, the procurement will not be completed before June, forcing the farmers to sell their produce at a lower price. Less number of procurement centres will also lead to overcrowding, he added.
In the letter, the officer mentioned that the selling price of wheat at the Itawa mandi on April 16 stood between Rs 1,722 and Rs 1,934 per quintal and at the Khatauli Mandi, between Rs 1,648 and Rs 1,815 per quintal. On April 17, the price at the Itawa Mandi stood between Rs 1,780 and Rs 1,891 per quintal and at the Khatauli Mandi, between Rs 1,710 and Rs 1,818 per quintal.
Procurement details of the Krishi Upaj Mandi, Itawa.
The data reveals that the ratio of wheat procured by the government agencies at MSP is far less than that procured by local buyers through open auction at a rate decided by the buyers.
As per the latest data available at the Itawa Mandi, 4,300 quintals of wheat has been sold to local wholesalers, and 120 quintals of wheat has been procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI)
Similarly, at the Khatauli Mandi, 640 quintals of wheat was sold to the local wholesalers, while only 185 quintals of wheat was procured by FCI.
Ram Narayan Meena, Congress MLA from Pipalda constituency in Kota, has raised his voice against the sale of wheat below MSP in Kota. “The FCI limits its procurement intentionally so that farmers are made to suffer. The procurement by FCI is a mere formality, they just acquire 5% of the total produce. Yet, they claim to have made farmers’ lives better,” Meena told The Wire.
“I term the present situation of farmers as a failure of the Government of India. It is because of the Centre that the Rajasthan government is also not able to do anything for the farmers,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, responding to The Wire‘s query on the falling crop procurement rates, CM Gehlot on Sunday said, “The portal was suspended after the sudden lockdown, over two lakh farmers were registered before the suspension. The procurement at MSP rates would begin in Rajasthan from May 1.”
