With the harvesting of toor dal beginning in the district, fresh stock has arrived in Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee yards. Growers are now demanding that the government open procurement centres to ensure better prices for the commodity and prevent the exploitation by traders.
The growers said that owing to the delay in opening of onion procurement centres, a majority of growers had to sell the perishable crop at dirt-cheap prices to traders. However, some growers were benefited as the price of the crop increased in the open market.
The government announced a minimum support price of Rs. 624 per quintal for onion, after which the price in the open market increased to Rs. 700 per quintal. Earlier, it was sold at Rs. 500 to Rs. 600 per quintal.
Vijayapura is the second largest producer of toor dal in the State after Kalaburagi. The production was better this year compared with other districts even in the prevailing drought situation.
“The growers don’t want to be exploited by traders who will buy the commodity at cheap rates,” Ningaraj Magimath, a grower from Babalad village, said.
According to sources, while the present market rate of toor dal is Rs. 4,800 to Rs. 5,000 quintal in the open market, the Food Corporation of India is buying it at Rs. 5,050 per quintal.
The farmers said that the State government should start procurement centres by announcing a higher MSP.
He said that this year, a majority of growers had switched over to toor dal hoping to get better prices as it was sold around Rs. 120 per kg last year.
This year, the growers have cultivated toor dal on nearly 4 lakh hectares. Already around 85,000 quintals of the crop has arrived in APMCs. Meanwhile, M.D. Chabanur, Assistant Director of the APMC in Vijayapura, has said that the district administration had submitted a proposal to the government seeking opening of procurement centres.
