State agencies burdened due to farmers, arhtiyas’ FCI boycott in Moga

As farmers and arhtiyas (commission agents) of Moga boycotted the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the central agency witnessed no procurement, putting the entire onus of procuring the grain on state agencies.

The arhtiyas had earlier announced a boycott of FCI to protest against the deduction in the per quintal commission, following which farmers also boycotted the Adani Group-owned silo at Moga rented to store the procured grain.

There has been no direct delivery of wheat at the silo, which traditionally received around 90,000 tonne produce every year, by farmers so far. At this stage, around 20,000 tonne wheat procured by the state agencies has been stored at the facility.

District food and supply controller Geeta Bashambhu, meanwhile, said state agencies were carrying out procurement amid the boycott, adding, “All the grain delivered at silo was procured by the state agencies. No farmer has gone to the silo directly so far.”

The silo, which became operational in 2007 with a capacity to store 2 lakh tonne grain, was constructed after Adani Group signed a 20-year contract with the FCI for storage and transportation infrastructure. The movement from the silo is made in bulk through specialised trains, complete railhead exists within the silo premises.

Initially, the silos procured the wheat directly from the farmers without involving the arhtiyas, saving on the commission. Procurement targets, however, were not being met due to a lack of awareness and increasing pressure on the farmers Come 2010, the FCI introduced arthtiyas at all Adani Group silos.

Around 7 lakh tonne wheat is procured from the Moga district each season, of which around two lakh metric tonne is procured by the FCI and stored majorly at the Adani Group silos. Another four lakh tonne is managed by the state procurement agencies and the remaining one tonne is stored through other efforts by the district administration. Farmers and arhtiyas’ FCI boycott has thus put more burden on the state agencies, which are already struggling to manage the surplus wheat this year.

FCI Moga DM Mahesh Babu Mangalgiri said, “The procurement process has just started and we have some time. We will fill the silos by the end of the procurement process, A total of 20,000 tonne grain has been stored at the silos so far.”

Meanwhile, the district administration is making efforts to ensure smooth procurement.

Moga deputy commissioner Kulwant Singh said the arrival of 4.09 lakh tonne wheat has been recorded. “Of this, 3.74 lakh tonne has been purchased and 1.61 lakh tonne has been lifted. The payment of the purchased wheat has to be done by the administration in 48 hours, but this payment is being done by the district administration in less than 24 hours. As against ₹491.77 crore in district Moga, ₹652.68 crore has been disbursed so far. That of the total payment is 132.72%,” he said.

“Despite constraints, more than 30,000 tonne is being lifted daily, which is much more than the previous year’s record 27,287 tonnes. Around 4,000 tonne wheat is being delivered daily despite the arhtiyas not sending wheat directly to the silo,” he added.

Besides, wheat can be sent through special trains from only two railway stations in Moga.