Responding to the growing unrest among farmers whose harvested crops were lying in open mandis at risk of rain damage, the Haryana government has successfully pushed the Centre to prepone the procurement cycle.
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Bowing to Pressure: For the past week, farmer unions under the banner of BKU (Charuni) and other groups had been protesting outside Deputy Commissioners’ offices. They argued that the early-maturing PR-126 and other hybrid varieties were already harvested, and without government purchase, farmers were being forced to sell to private players at ₹400–₹500 below the MSP.
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The New Schedule: Following a meeting between CM Saini and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, the procurement will now commence on September 27. This shift aims to prevent the grain from absorbing moisture during the late-September rains, which often leads to rejection at the centers.
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MSP and Targets: The government has set a target to procure nearly 60 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this year. The MSP has been fixed at:
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Common Paddy: ₹2,300 per quintal
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Grade-A Paddy: ₹2,320 per quintal
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Digital Facilitation: To avoid long queues, the e-Kharid portal has been updated. Farmers can now generate their own mandi gate passes from home. Additionally, officials have been directed to ensure that the lifting of the grain from mandis happens within 72 hours of purchase to prevent glut.
