Farmers Movement Archive

UP farmers suffer losses after govt 'refuses' to procure fine paddy crop

Strap: We are now being forced to sell to private traders at low MSP, farmers claimPilibhit: More than 1.5 lakh farmers have been directly affected by the UP government's reluctance to procure fine paddy crop in Pilibhit this year. These varieties were initially promoted by the government itself, farmers said, and "we are facing such a crisis for the first time since 2000, when the state procurement mechanism was rolled in". The seed of these varieties were sold to farmers in Pilibhit by the district agriculture department this year as it was "high yielding and disease resistant". Now, the government's "refusal" to procure paddy beyond its list of 37 low yielding varieties has forced the farmers to face severe hardship and sell their produce elsewhere."The minimum support price (MSP) of fine paddy is Rs 1,888 per quintal for current season. But now, we are being forced to sell to private traders at Rs 1,200-Rs 1,300 per quintal," said Manjeet Singh, a prominent farmer of Puranpur block.Notably, the district food and marketing department has reportedly bought only 36.12 metric tonnes till December 15, out of an estimated production of 2.50 lakh metric tonnes.This clearly shows that farmers will incur huge losses, Manjeet added. And there is already a lot of resentment in the farming community here over the three new farm laws, he said.Another farmer Manjit Singh Sandhu of Amaria block had sown 'HKR 147' variety of fine paddy. While Dalveer Singh, a farmer from Hardaspur village, had used the 'PR 121' variety. They alleged that government agencies have refused to procure their fine paddy produce and returned their trolleys.However, district officials placed the blame at the rice mill owners' doorstep."The procurement of fine paddy has been put on hold by the state as rice millers complained that the recovery of rice in fine paddy was much lower in comparison to coarse paddy varieties," Avinash Jha, the district food and marketing officer, said on Thursday.Pilibhit district magistrate Pulkit Khare said, “We had sought the permission of the state administration to procure at least 'PR 121' and 'PR 126' varieties of fine paddy."But, the state officials have decided to consider the request in next year’s procurement season, the DM added.So, the only alternative left seems to be the private traders, Manjeet, the local farmer, said.

The Times of India

2020-12-18

Bareilly