CHANDIGARH: Haryana has postponed the procurement of wheat and mustard amid the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus.
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that mustard procurement will start from April 15 and wheat procurement from April 20 if situation normalises by then.
In his televised address to people of the state, he said, “Till the time procurement gets underway, store the ripened crops in your homes. The Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board will find solutions for the storage of foodgrains.”
The Haryana government will push for staggered procurement to ease up congestion and glut in mandis, Khattar said.
Khattar assured the farmers that every single grain will be procured, though there will be some delay but they are apprehensive.
“The government should make arrangements for gunny bags and tarpaulin sheets. In normal times, farmers take their produce straight from the fields to procurement mandis,” Bharatiya Kisan Union leader from Haryana, Gurnam Singh told PTI over the phone.
As some delay in crop procurement is expected, Khattar said, “We have written to the Centre to prepare a scheme to give incentives to farmers and I am hopeful that the Union government will soon come out with such a scheme. Once such a scheme is announced, the state government will also do its bit to extend help to the farmers”.
HELPLINE SOUGHT
Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja wrote to Khattar on Thursday drawing his attention to the problems likely to be faced by farmers in the wake of delay in procurement of crops.
Selja said the state government should set up a round-the-clock dedicated helpline for farmers where all their concerns should be clarified.
Demanding waiver of crop loans, she also said that the credit limit of Kisan Credit Cards used by farmers should be increased.
‘GIVE FARMERS ADVANCE’
BKU leader Gurnam Singh also said the government should give advance of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per acre to the farmers who have to pay to farm labourers and to meet other expenses related to harvesting and storing of crop.
“The government can deduct this amount later from farmers accounts when they procure the produce and make payment to farmers for it,” he said.
Asked if there was any shortage of animal feed, Singh said the shops selling fodder remain open for some time enabling farmers to buy as per requirement.
“However, farmers are facing problem in getting fertilisers as shops remain mostly closed,” he said. (With PTI inputs)
