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Demand will be key to strong recovery in the farm sector going forward

Unless demand picks up, it will be difficult to absorb all the surplus output, especially in crops that aren't procured by govt, are largely consumed in processed form, or are exported

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Coronavirus | agriculture economy

Sanjeeb Mukherjee  |  New Delhi 

Buoyed by good soil moisture, Purshottam lal, a middle-aged farmer from Harda district of Madhya Pradesh had planted summer-moong crop in a big way, braving the Covid lockdown in early April. Much to Lal's relief, the crop came out satisfactorily, as availability of seeds, fertilisers and other vital inputs were patchy in the initial days of lockdown.

But then the unexpected happened. Moong prices crashed from a high of over Rs 6,500 a quintal, to Rs 4,500-5,000, almost 42 per cent lower than the minimum support price set in 2019-20. Lal’s hopes of making a good ...
First Published: Wed, July 15 2020. 20:26 IST