Centre’s move to help pulses farmers

In a first of its kind initiative, pulse-growing farmers in Tamil Nadu are being covered under the Centre's price support system (PSS). Farmers in a few other States are already enjoying the benefit.

The PSS takes care of interests of farmers at a time when the market price, which hovers in the range of ₹44 to ₹46 a kg, is lower than the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹54 a kg determined by the Centre, says Abhinesh Bose, a senior official of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). On Friday, farmers in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai districts began selling their produce — around 39 tonnes of black gram (‘urad dhal’) — to the agency.

The plan is to procure 3,000 tonnes directly from farmers over the next few months. Mr. Bose recalls that in the past, his organisation procured copra through the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation (TANFED).

According to officials of the State Agriculture Department, the area of cultivation of black gram this year is about 3.95 lakh hectares and the production is likely to be 2.76 lakh tonnes. Apart from the three northern districts, the crop is grown in Tiruppur, Salem, Dharmapuri (all in the western region), Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, (all in the central region), Dindigul, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts (all in the south).

Decision welcomed

Welcoming the move, G. Elumalai, a farmer of Suriyanthangal near Kilpennathur of the Tiruvannamalai district, says “agriculturists in my area had, in recent weeks, sold pulses at ₹ 41/kg or ₹ 42/kg to private traders. Compared to this rate, the price being offered by the authorities is much higher,” he says. However, he feels that the government should have stepped in at least a month earlier, as many pulse-growing farmers have disposed of their produce.

Mr. Elumalai has made two requests to the State government officials. First, village administrative officers should expeditiously furnish copies of “adangal,” a document for agricultural lands, when sought by farmers, as it is required to be produced at the time of registration before a farmer sells his or her produce to the NAFED at any regulated market.

Second, although Mr. Elumalai has been assured that payment will be credited into farmers’ bank account in five days, he wants the payment to be as swift as private traders do.

Asked why the NAFED did not procure pulses from farmers in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Bose said there should have been marketable surplus. Besides, farmers would come forward to sell their produce through his agency only when the market price is lower than the support price.

This year, there had been a fall in the market price. “This is why the government intervention is more beneficial to farmers,” Mr. Bose said.