After two months since Rabi procurement season (April-June) started, Centre has enhanced the maximum quantity a farmer can sell in a day to 40 quintals from 25 quintals in chana in Rajasthan after several representations from farmer leaders and State government. Official purchases of rabi pulses and oilseeds will end on June 30.

“We had requested the Centre to enhance the limit in mid-April and they took so much time to approve it. The government should extend the procurement period so that farmers are able to sell their chana at minimum support price (MSP),” said Rampal Jat, president of Kisan Mahapanchayat. He also appealed the State government to become more efficient like Madhya Pradesh where 90 per cent of the target has already been achieved, as against 20 per cent in Rajasthan.

Procurement target

The Agriculture Ministry in a notification on June 2, also increased the chana procurement target in Rajasthan to 6.20 lakh tonnes (lt) from earlier 5.98 lt, which is as per the norm of 25 per cent of the crop’s estimated production. Though the Centre has pegged chana output in Rajasthan, the second largest producer, at 24.82 lt, the State government estimates it up 20 per cent at 27.22 lt in 2021-22 crop year (July-June).

The Centre has informed the State government that if it wants to increase the procurement target to 40 per cent of production, it has to distribute those chana through the public distribution system at its own cost.

Until May 31, as much as 1.20 lt of chana has been purchased at an MSP of ₹5,230 per quintal from over 55,000 farmers in Rajasthan. The weighted average mandi price of chana was ₹4,718 in April, ₹4,417 in May and is now further down to ₹4,228/quintal.

“Farmers still have the crop and they will be able to get a major benefit if procurement at MSP is extended for two months. There could have been more purchases in Rajasthan had they allowed farmers to sell 40 quintals/day earlier as it was done for Madhya Pradesh on April 12,” Jat said.

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