Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab: Farmers not keen on doorstep plan, want services in mandis

BATHINDA: Farmers and arhtiyas (commission agents) have termed the proposal of doorstep procurement of wheat as not practically feasible. They claim that cleaning, weighing and loading of grains not feasible in such a system, as it is not possible to take cleaning machines and weighing bridges to the fields or homes of farmers. The farmers fear that procurement season would linger on for much longer, leaving very little time for sowing of cotton crop in the cotton belt. The farmers and the arhtiyas instead pitched for procurement in mandis with full caution and added the government could increase temporary mandis and spaces available with rice mills. However, they disagreed with each other on how the farmers could be paid. The arhtiyas want that the farmers be paid through them, but farmers prefer a system in which the payment is made directly into their accounts. The farmers have urged the state government to put in place everything needed for procurement, including bags, ensuring return of all combine harvesters that have gone to other states and reaching of labourers for harvesting. With public financial management system (PFMS) - which was to be started from this rabi crop harvesting season - would be put on hold and the role of arhtiyas in procurement is expected to remain as in the past. Wheat has been sown in 35 lakh hectares in Punjab and nearly 180 lakh tonne is expected to be produced in the state. The state government has announced to start the harvesting and procurement from April 15. "The government needs to educate people, including farmers and labourers, about ways to avoid the spread of the coronavirus," said BKU Dakonda general secretary Jagmohan Singh. Federation of arhtiya association Punjab president Vijay Kalra said, "We have met food supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and insisted on mandis. We suggested they could add some temporary mandis apart from 158 mandis and 1,832 procurement centres in villages. No farmers should be made to travel for more than two kilometres to sell the crop."

The Times of India

2020-04-05

Ludhiana