- MP farmers protest Moong MSP procurement, clash with police.
- Government discourages Moong due to pesticides, full warehouses.
- State faces surplus stock despite high central procurement quota.
Farmers in Madhya Pradesh are agitated over the procurement of Moong crop harvested in the summer season. On Wednesday, the protesting farmers from across the state clashed with the police in Bhopal, pushing for their demand for procurement on MSP. The controversy is related to the state government's discouragement of production due to excessive use of pesticides. For the last two years, the government has been encouraging farmers to stop sowing summer crops.
In order to promote diversification, the government has announced a 100 per cent procurement of Urad crop at MSP, along with an incentive of Rs 600 per quintal. However, the farmers are still not able to stop Moong production as it provides higher profits in less time despite adverse impacts on the environment due to pesticide excess.
Procurement demand but warehouses full
Another challenge for the government with procurement demand is Moong's surplus stock. Notably, the government of India sets procurement targets under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). However, the farmers are pressuring the government to buy more than the quota. Besides, over 3,50,000 tons of Moong beans worth approximately Rs 3,000 crore from previous years are already stored in warehouses.
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Due to poor quality of the crop, traders are reluctant to purchase it. The problem has escalated to become a flashpoint between the government and farmers every year.
Understand the calculation
Summer Moong cultivation covers 1.45 million hectares in the state. According to the third advance estimate, the yield per hectare is approximately 1.5 quintals. Consequently, production is expected to reach 2.016 million tons. The government had clarified before the start of the season that 25 per cent of the total production would be purchased at the support price. Despite this, farmers expanded their acreage.
The state is facing the challenge despite having an 87 per cent quota in overall procurement set by the Centre across India. The central government set a procurement target of 4.54 lakh tonnes. Eligible farmers were registered for their produce, and procurement began.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday wrote to CM Mohan Yadav, explaining him in detail about Centre' procurement quota allocation to the state.