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Higher wheat production has farmers worried
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SME Times News Bureau | 14 Mar, 2019
With the extension of winter and timely rains in early March providing a
conducive climate for wheat production, the total output is expected to
touch 105 million tonnes this year. Ironically, farmers are worried as
higher production means lower returns, going by past experience.
Higher
availability of wheat stocks in the government pool at 23.9 million
tonnes in February this year against 17.5 million tonnes in the like
month last year has led to growing concerns on the approach of the Food
Corp of India (FCI) to procurement this year.
Farmers in the
major wheat producing states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh have had unpleasant experiences in the past when they
failed to get Minimum Support Prices (MSP) fixed by the government.
Nazer
Singh, a farmer from Punjab, said the crop remuneration had always been
a problem but it worsened in 2016 - the year high-value currency was
demonetized.
"Although the government announces the MSP, we
hardly get it if we have to sell it in the open market. In case, the
government's procurement centres do not open on time, we are forced to
sell at prices fixed by traders," said Nazer Singh, who cultivates six
acres of land in Bareta in Mansa district.
"Now, we have heard wheat output will be higher this time. It may translate into a drop in prices."
Many
farmers had complained of receiving a lower price in the market than
the MSP of Rs 1,735 per quintal last year. This year, the MSP has been
increased by Rs 105 to Rs 1,840 per quintal.
According to
government officials, wheat harvesting has begun in some areas of Madhya
Pradesh and will begin accelerating to its peak from the first week of
April across the country. Farm activist Kedar Sirohi said
better remuneration could be expected this year as per current market
dynamics but may drop if traders changed their strategies later.
"Farmers
do not get appreciation for their work. We expect the production and
quality will be better this time. However, we are not sure about
guaranteed good returns since this depends on how traders make
purchases. It is a tragedy," Sirohi said.
Also, the government may not want wheat prices to go up during election time, he added.
Farm
analyst Devinder Sharma said that more the farmers produce, the lower
is the income they can expect, which makes it imperative to cut down
production in order to get right price.
"The government does not
procure the harvest in time, leaving the fixation of prices to the
market forces. Farmers must stop intensive farming as an increase in
productivity means dip in their income," he said.
"They must
reduce their output by at least 10 per cent if they want remunerative
prices. It is not anti-national. They are fighting for their survival."
Farmers must look for alternative source of income by making optimum use of land and resources they have, Sharma added.
G.P.
Singh, Director, Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR),
said the long-cherished dream of 100 million tonnes plus production is
set to happen this year.
An important constituent of the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the IIWBR is a nodal agency for
research activities on wheat and barley in the country.
"As the
winter extended and rains occurred in the first week of March, there
will be conducive climate during ripening process, which means higher
production," Singh told IANS.
"We are hopeful that the total output this year will touch 105 million tonnes."
However,
as per the second advanced estimates released by the Agriculture
Ministry last month, the total wheat output is pegged at 99.12 million
tonnes.
India stands second in wheat production in the world at 12.05 per cent, as per the Food Ministry data.
Last year, domestic production was 97.11 million tonnes and about 35.8 million tonnes was procured by the government agencies.
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