The State government has decided to open procurement centres in Bidar and Gadag to stop the slide in green gram prices. Farmers' leaders, however, are angry that the government’s move has come three weeks after they have sold all their grain.
The government announced the opening of these centres in select agriculture produce marketing committee yards in the two districts and fixed a market intervention price of Rs. 5,250 per quintal. Farmers however, are not happy. "It is like closing the fort gate after the enemy has looted the city," says Sumanth Gramle, a farmer from Anadur. "Due to early rains, most farmers started sowing in the first week of June. Our crop ripened in 65-70 days and farmers harvested it latest by the second week of August. It is sad to see that the government thinks of buying grain after nine out of ten farmers have sold their crop," he said. Farmers need money for the series of festivals due and depend heavily on early kharif crops such as green gram. It would help if the State government announces minimum support prices before the onset of monsoon in May. This would boost the confidence of farmers and help them choose crops, he added.
'Conspiracy'
This could in fact be a conspiracy to help the middlemen make profits by selling stored grain for higher prices, suspects Mallikarjun Swamy, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader. Middlemen store grains in government godowns using documents from the cultivators. When the government starts buying, they sell in the name of farmers, Mr. Swamy alleged.
Farmers cannot store their grains for long. They lack storage facilities, and green gram gets spoiled if not stored scientifically, says Veerendra Patil, a farm scientist who suggests setting up of community managed silos in villages to help them store grains for long.
Green gram is among the first crops of the year and needs to be sold immediately as farmers need cash in hand for sowing the next crop. Farmers are indebted to the middlemen who are also the dealers in seeds and pesticides. Farmers keep taking small amounts of money from middlemen regularly. That is why they need to dispose of their produce in two or three days, says Rajshekar Patil, a farmer from Ashtur.
The district grows green gram on around 25,000 hectares (63,000 acres), with an annual average production of 30,000 tonnes. APMC officials are saying they plan to procure at least 15 per cent of the total produce.
Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari said he had long-term plans to help farmers store their produce in an efficient way. "We are building 120 rural godowns. We will try to set up at least one community silo in each hobli to popularise the idea," he added.
