Mustard procurement in Haryana from Tuesday

As a part of the rabi marketing season, the Haryana government is all set to start procurement of mustard crops at 106 purchase centres in the state from Tuesday.

The government will purchase the crop at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹5,650 per quintal in the state through the Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED) and Haryana State Warehouse Corporation (HSWC).

Officials said that the procurement will be done based on data entered on the “Meri Fasal-Mera Byora” portal, payment for which will be directly credited to the accounts of registered farmers via direct benefit transfer (DBT).

The government is expecting 14.28 lakh metric tonnes of mustard in the mandis this time; however, opposition and farm activists have termed the decision late, alleging that private players have already taken benefit by buying the produce at lower prices.

Farmers claimed that the harvesting of mustard had already begun in the first half of March and they had already taken the produce to the markets.

Bahadur Mehla, spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sir Chotu Ram) said that due to early arrival, the private ‘arhtiyas’ in connivance with the government have been offering the price at ₹4,600 to ₹4,700 per quintal, which is at least ₹1,000 lower than the MSP.

Similarly, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in a statement said that looking at the preparations it seems impossible to start the procurement by March 26

“A total of 9.25 lakh farmers have registered 61.45 lakh acres on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal’. But out of this, there is a mismatch in the records of 10.40 lakh acres of area. Until this flaw is removed, the government will not buy the crops. This means the farmers will have to bear the brunt of the government’s mistake. Congress demands the government to start procurement of mustard without any delay and complete all preparations for the arrival of wheat in advance,” he stated.