Farmers in Haryana are still waiting for the government purchase of the new season’s paddy to commence but the official buying date is yet to be announced. Farmers have urged the State government to start purchasing paddy from mid-September itself, against the usual date of October 1 for the kharif marketing season, because they fear losses caused by the arrival of early maturing varieties in a few markets of the state.
“Paddy arrival has already started in a few markets and, therefore, the government should start procuring paddy from September 20. Any delay, will only end in exploitation of farmers at the hands of traders,” says the Bhartiya Kisan Union State unit said. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Harvesting of the kharif season crop, which is primarily grown in the Ambala, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Panipat, Sonipat, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts of the state, starts by mid-September. “Early procurement of paddy is a necessity now...traditionally, purchase of paddy by the government in Haryana starts from October 1, but that no longer makes sense. These days, we have many varieties of paddy that mature in 80-90 days, when compared with the 120-140 days it used to take. It’s therefore important for the government to start early procurement otherwise farmers would suffer problems,” said Gurnam Singh, State President of the BKU. Mr. Singh said that while the government intends to start online trading of paddy through the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), it’s important that all modalities are completed before large stocks of paddy start arriving in the market.
“The government should ensure that farmers are allowed to sell their produce across districts. For this, it is important that processes for securing the Release Order are eased out,” he added.
Notably, the Haryana government has planned to link 27 grain markets of the state from October 1 with the National Agriculture Market (e-nam), a unified pan-India electronic trading portal for agricultural produce.
