Rajasthan
No Gunny Bags To Weigh, Store Crops, Farmers Sell Produce At Cheap Prices | Jaipur News
Jaisalmer: Despite a good harvest this season in areas irrigated by the Indira Gandhi canal here, farmers are forced to sell their crops at cheap rates in the open market because government procurement centres are short of gunny bags in which to weigh and store the produce.
In all the seven government centres in Jaisalmer, the procurement on minimum support price (MSP) is yet to start due to the shortage of gunny bags. The crops are lying in the open at the centres and farmers have received no cash even as the time of sowing Kharif crops is here.
The government had announced to start the purchase of crops on MSP from April 1, but almost two months have passed and the purchase of mustard and gram is yet to start. Hundreds of farmers have registered themselves at the government centres to sell mustard but there are no gunny bags to weigh and store the produce, farmers say.
Radheyshyam Pannu, a farmer, said that in a few centres the weighing of gram was done but the weighing of mustard has not started in any of the centres yet. Another farmer, Achlaram Jat, said that unavailability of gunny bags at the centres has forced farmers to sell their crops at throwaway prices because they need money to start sowing kharif crops.
Confirming the shortage of gunny bags, deputy registrar of cooperative societies at Jaisalmer, Mohammad Rafiq, said that there is shortage of gunny bags in the whole of Rajasthan. “Gunny bags are supplied from Calcutta at the government level, which is monitored by Rajfed. Rajfed has informed today itself that it may take another 3-4 days for the bags to arrive. Weighing of crops is not being done due to shortage of gunny bags,” Rafiq said.
In all the seven government centres in Jaisalmer, the procurement on minimum support price (MSP) is yet to start due to the shortage of gunny bags. The crops are lying in the open at the centres and farmers have received no cash even as the time of sowing Kharif crops is here.
The government had announced to start the purchase of crops on MSP from April 1, but almost two months have passed and the purchase of mustard and gram is yet to start. Hundreds of farmers have registered themselves at the government centres to sell mustard but there are no gunny bags to weigh and store the produce, farmers say.
Radheyshyam Pannu, a farmer, said that in a few centres the weighing of gram was done but the weighing of mustard has not started in any of the centres yet. Another farmer, Achlaram Jat, said that unavailability of gunny bags at the centres has forced farmers to sell their crops at throwaway prices because they need money to start sowing kharif crops.
Confirming the shortage of gunny bags, deputy registrar of cooperative societies at Jaisalmer, Mohammad Rafiq, said that there is shortage of gunny bags in the whole of Rajasthan. “Gunny bags are supplied from Calcutta at the government level, which is monitored by Rajfed. Rajfed has informed today itself that it may take another 3-4 days for the bags to arrive. Weighing of crops is not being done due to shortage of gunny bags,” Rafiq said.
