‘Expected rain delay’: Farmers upset over crop procurement

Gurgaon: Farmers in the state have expressed displeasure over the delay in procurement of paddy crops. This is because the state government has failed to announce the advancement of procurement of kharif crops, including paddy, from the scheduled date of October 1.
Farmers said they had been urging the government to prepone the procurement but instead, the government has delayed it. Their worries have been compounded by the heavy downpour for the past two days in several districts.
“Given how monsoon was delayed this year across the country, we were anticipating it to come at an odd time and spoil our produce. Thus, we have been asking the government to start the procurement early to save us from losses. Now, the standing crop is getting damaged due to the rain and the produce harvested is getting spoiled as there are no takers,” complained Palwal-based farmer Preet Singh.
Farmers further complained that with arhtiyas going on strike since September 19, the sale of produce has also been impacted. Many farmers who are arriving at the grain market to offload their produce said the stand-off between the state government and the commission agents is impacting them.
“This is the situation every year. As a result, a significant portion of our crop gets wasted. The government should know that the entire system of procurement in the state is heavily dependent on these arhtiyas and they should be taken into consideration whenever any order is passed. We don’t have an issue with anything as long as our produce is lifted and we are paid fairly,” said Dharambir Singh, a farmer from Jind.
Commission agents, however, are hell-bent that they will not end their strike until the government rolls back its decision to procure non-paddy crops through the e-NAM portal. They have also demanded that the market fees and Haryana Rural Development Fund cess be reduced.