Punjab wheat growers face double whammy

Wheat growers in Punjab are facing a double whammy. While a fresh spell of unseasonal rain across Punjab and Haryana on Thursday has hit harvest, the delay in procurement of stocks by Government agencies is forcing severe problems for them.

Mounds of grains are lying in the open at mandis or procurement centres.

Arrivals are steadily on the rise as farmers are bringing tractor loads of wheat over the last few days. Farmers waiting for Government agencies such as the Food Corporation of India, PunGrain and MarkFed to lift their produce is a common sight.

“We have been waiting for the last six days,” said Harnik Singh from Rajgarh village in Patiala district. He had brought wheat to the procurement site at Mohammedpur on the Patiala-Sangrur State highway. He says there is no respite to farmers like him from around 15 villages till the grain is bagged and the last sack lifted by procurement agencies.

So is the case of Atma Singh – a farmer in his late forties from Chodapur village. The delay in lifting of stocks is testing his patience, but he has no choice. In fact, a group of farmers even staged a protest on the State highway on Wednesday to draw the Government’s attention. They also even blame the lack of adequate jute bags to pack their produce.

Higher moisture content in the grain is delaying procurement, say officials at the procurement sites. The cloudy weather, coupled with unseasonal showers, has hit the drying process.

Kumar Rahul, General Manager (North), Food Corporation of India, said the procurement process had just begun as arrivals, so far, have been lower.

“Only a few thousand tonnes have been procured so far,” Kumar said adding that process will gain momentum in the days ahead.

Asked about the delay in mandis such as Mohammedpur, Kumar said Sate agency PunGrain was responsible for procurement and that he would ask the officials concerned to expedite the process. Besides FCI, five other agencies are involved in the procurement process with each of them allotted different regions.

Kumar said that wheat procurement would be higher than last year on better yield as the growing areas experienced prolonged winter.

The Centre is planning to procure 31million tonnes (mt) of wheat this year against last year’s 25 mt and bulk of this is expected to come from Punjab. 

In neighbouring Nidampur, few kilometres away on the same highway in Sangrur district, the picture is a bit different. Most of the grain brought to the mandi has been bagged with only a smaller quantity lying in the open. 

 Farmers said there were hardly any concerns about lifting of stocks. However, most of them had faced a drop in yield , by some 10-15 per cent this year, on account of erratic weather which affected the process of grain formation.

Farmers want a better price than the minimum support price of ₹1,400 announced by the Government.

“We should get at least ₹1,700 a quintal to cover rising costs and make a decent gain,” said Jagat Singh Sandhu, a farmer in his sixties from Masani village. 

 Sandhu who owns some 11 acres says returns have been diminishing and farming is no longer attractive for the younger generation.

“I have already pledged two acres of my land and do not know how to get it back,” Sandhu said adding that farming is becoming difficult amidst declining water table and erratic power supply – though it is provided free of cost in Punjab.

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