Maize procurement: Farmers’ body warns of stir if govt fails to buy their produce

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charauni) held a ‘mahapanchayat’ in Ambala’s Saha on Tuesday and warned of a stir if government did not buy maize from farmers. Farmers also handed over a memorandum addressed to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to local SDM. Union president Gurnam Singh Charuni said the state government failed to fulfil its promise of purchasing the maize and farmers had to incur losses due to low market prices.

“Many farmers of Ambala gathered and discussed how the government had promised to buy the crop and now, it is not fulfilling its promise. The MSP decided by the government for the crop is Rs 1,760 per quintal and the maximum market price is Rs 1,200, leading to heavy losses to the farmers as they are bound to sell in the market in the absence of government purchase,” he said.

“The crop is grown in large areas of the district and farmers here have mostly grown this crop after the government asked them to grow maize as an alternative to rice, so the farmers here are the most affected. We have given an ultimatum to the government to buy the crop or face protests,” Charuni said.