Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 22: JKPCC has stressed upon the Government to set up food-grains procurement centres at all important locations in each district of Jammu province.
In a statement issued today, JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said the Government has announced Rs 1925 per quintal minimum support price (MSP) of wheat this year, which means that the farmers should get this minimum or lowest rate of per quintal wheat but the farmers are being forced to sell their wheat produce at Rs 1500 per quintal in the absence of any procurement centres in several districts like Rajouri.
This is very unfortunate and makes it totally irrelevant to fix MSP for crops when the Government has failed to set up a single procurement centre in various wheat producing districts of Jammu province, he said.
Sharma said last time also, during the maize crop season, the farmers were compelled to sell the maize produce at Rs 1100 per quintal against the Government price (MSP) fixed at Rs 1800 per quintal, as no procurement centre was set up by the Government in several districts like Rajouri and Poonch which are high maize producing districts.
“Is it not a fraud and cheating with the farmers who are being looted in broad day light by the middlemen and the farmers are helpless to sell their produce at much cheaper rates due to lack of procurement centres. Can a farmer from Rajouri, Nowshera, Jhanger, Sunderbani and Kalakote take his wheat (produce) to sell in the procurement centres set up at Samba or Kathua,” he questioned.
He said this is one of the main cause of the farmers’ agitation in the country against the new farm laws and farm policy of the present NDA Government as it does not guarantee the return to the farmers at the rates of MSP for their produce.
Sharma demanded the Government to establish procurement centres at all important locations in each district of Jammu province, so that farmers may get the price of the wheat fixed by the Government.
Follow our WhatsApp channel