Farmers in crisis again as lockdown halts purchases

Shishir Arya | TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 04:01 IST

In Vidarbha region, by April farmers usually clear most of the cotton produce

Nagpur: Farmers are staring at a fresh crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak has brought cotton purchases to a standstill across the region as even textile industries are closed. Sales of pulses like tur and chana (gram) are also slow, say farmers.
By April, farmers usually clear most of the cotton produce. Hoping for better rates ahead, they are reported to have withheld 20% to 40% of their produce only to face the lockdown now. The rates were low in February because the Covid-19 outbreak in China had hit the demand for the commodity there.
In February when Covid-19 was still not a major scare in India, cotton rates were in the range of Rs 5200-5300 a quintal as against the MSP of Rs 5500 due to China factor.
“Prices are expected to touch Rs 4300 to 4200 a quintal when the markets reopen,” said Sudhir Kothari, a director of the agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) at Hinganghat, a cotton procurement centre.
Kothari said APMC was getting calls form anxious famers asking when the markets will reopen. Cotton purchases have been stopped since March 12, he said. The government should intervene and start purchases at MSP, said Kothari.
Rajesh Padalkar, the former sarpanch of Kharad village in Yavatmal district, said farmers must be having as much as 30% of the cotton. “Had the government purchases been faster, much of the stock would have been cleared by now. Farmers are also having stock of tur and chana,” he said.
Tur which is a Kharif crop is harvested in January and chana, a rabi crop, is harvested in March.
Farmers said harvests are over but they were waiting for government to start MSP procurement of tur and chana too before lockdown. Now as buying of the two commodities continues at a snail’s pace the rates are below MSP. Tur has a MSP of Rs 5800 a quintal. The market rates are around Rs 5000 to 5200. Chana is at Rs 3800 to 4000 as against the MSP of Rs 4875 a quintal.
This year farmers had a good harvest of chana but the lockdown has led to a crisis, said Kishor Tiwari, chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM). Roshan Kothari of the APMC at Wani said by this time the farmers could have cleared at least 25% of their pulses’ stock.