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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | UP farmers reap a bitter harvest by Samarth Saran

UP farmers reap a bitter harvest by Samarth Saran

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published Published on Feb 7, 2011   modified Modified on Feb 7, 2011
Roza Mandi, the biggest grain/paddy market in Shahjahanpur distrtict of Uttar Pradesh, is always bustling with traders, farmers and mill owners. However, there is one spot in the market where there is not much activity. And that is the government procurement centre, where farmers are supposed to sell their crops.

Amrish Tiwari, a farmer from Shahjahanpur, harvested 1,000 quintal of paddy crop this season. Considering he should have sold around 850 quintals at Rs1,030 per quintal and the rest at a slightly lower price as crop rates are determined by its quality and the amount of moisture it has, a back-of-the-envelope calculation would suggest that he must have earned around Rs8 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. But that’s not the case. Tiwari was actually paid somewhere between Rs 550 and Rs 600 per quintal, which was quite lower than the price set by the government.

“I did not earn more than Rs 5 lakh this season and the money that I earned will be used to repay my loans and buy seeds for the next crop,” said Tiwari.

He is not alone. This is generally the tale of farmers across the state. Girish Chand Pandey, another farmer from Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh, has a similar story to share.

“When a crop has been harvested, it needs to be taken to the market immediately as the farmers do not have enough storage space and also, the crop is destroyed if kept for too long,” said Pandey, explaining the mechanism of the trade. “However, when the farmer reaches the government procurement centre with his crops, all he finds is an empty place with no officials present there to buy it.” He added that there are weighing machines at the centre, but in the absence of any government officials, the farmers have “no choice but to sell our crops to commission agents in the market.” A commission agent at Roza Mandi, said that buying rates in the market are set on a daily basis in consultation with mill owners. “It’s a big nexus between government officials, commission agents and mill owners. Everybody knows what is happening in the market,” he said, on condition of anonymity.

“If mill owners start buying crops from government centres at the rates fixed by the state authorities, they will end up paying double the amount they pay now to the farmers,” he added.

Government officials on the other hand shrugged off their responsibility. Talking about the empty procurement centres, Roza Mandi Secretary Shiv Mangal Singh Chandel said he was not responsible for seeing that government procurement centres are manned by officials.

The district magistrate of Shahajanpur did not respond to emails and repeated phone calls by TEHELKA.

Tehelka, 4 February, 2011, http://www.tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ws040211AGRICULTURE.asp


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