BJP has a government in Madhya Pradesh, and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is also from this state. Despite this, farmers had to protest for three days demanding the purchase of the entire moong crop at the support price.
The state demanded that the procurement quota be increased from 4.54 lakh to 8.06 lakh metric tons, but approval was not granted. Following this, the state government decided to purchase 60% of moong from eligible farmers at its own level.
Now farmers are raising the question – when the same party’s government is in power at both the centre and the state, why was the procurement quota not increased? Farmer organisations are citing the alleged tussle between Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the reason behind this.
However, the center says that under the rules, Madhya Pradesh has already been approved for the highest moong procurement in the country.
There was a deadlock before, why was the quota not increased this time?
Bhagwan Singh Yaduvanshi, District President of Kisan Swaraj Sangathan, says, There has been a deadlock regarding moong procurement before. Back then, we used to demand from Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and the state government would talk to the centre and get the procurement quota increased. This time, despite the demand from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the quota was not increased.
Our question is why procurement was limited to only 25%. We have to sell the remaining produce in the open market at a lower price. Yaduvanshi raises the question, Shivraj Singh Chouhan calls himself Mama (maternal uncle) and knows that moong is grown on a large scale in his region. Despite this, why was no decision made in the interest of farmers?
He alleges that the political tug-of-war between Shivraj and Mohan Yadav is affecting farmers.
‘Don’t drag farmers into leaders’ internal disputes’
Anil Yadav, state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait), alleges that farmers are bearing the brunt of the political differences between Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Mohan Yadav. He says, “Farmers should not be dragged into the internal disputes of these two leaders.”
Anil Yadav says, “The lack of coordination between the center and the state is affecting farmers. The question is, why did farmers in the very state from which the Union Agriculture Minister hails have to agitate so much for the procurement of moong? Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Mohan Yadav both should answer this.”
Now understand, why did farmers’ anger erupt?
The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for moong (green gram) is ₹8,768 per quintal. Last year, procurement was based on an average production of 12 quintals per hectare (approximately 2.5 acres). This time, initially, only 1.20 quintals of moong per acre was being procured at the MSP.
Farmers had to sell the remaining produce in the open market, where they were getting a price of about ₹5,500 per quintal. Understand this with an example: If 5 quintals of moong were produced in one acre, the government would buy 1.20 quintals at ₹8,768 per quintal, and the remaining 3.80 quintals would be sold in the open market at a price of about ₹5,500.
Compared to selling the entire produce at MSP, the farmer would incur an income loss of about ₹12,418 per acre. For 10 acres, this difference would amount to about ₹1.24 lakh.
Shivraj’s letter: Centre can buy a maximum of 25% of production
Amidst the deadlock, the state’s Agriculture Minister, Aidal Singh Kanshana, wrote a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding that Madhya Pradesh’s moong procurement quota be increased from 4.54 lakh metric tons to 8.06 lakh metric tons.
In response, Shivraj informed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav that under the PM-AASHA scheme, the Centre can procure a maximum of 25% of the production at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
On this basis, 4,54,580 metric tons of procurement has been approved for Madhya Pradesh. Out of the 5,23,243 metric tons approved for the entire country, approximately 87% belongs to Madhya Pradesh, which is the highest among all states.
How much relief for farmers from the 60% procurement decision?
After talks with farmer organisations, the group of ministers decided to increase the procurement of moong produce from eligible farmers from 25% to 60%. In districts like Narmadapuram, Sehore, and Harda, this amounts to approximately 3 quintals per acre. After the decision was implemented, farmers ended their protest.
If there is a yield of 5 quintals per acre, now 3 quintals of moong will be procured at MSP. Compared to the old 1.20 quintals, an additional 1.80 quintals of produce can be sold at MSP.
Based on the difference between ₹8,768 MSP and ₹5,500 market price, this will result in an additional income of approximately ₹5,882 per acre. For 5 acres, this difference will be approximately ₹29,400.
Government to spend ₹6,625 crore more on 60% moong procurement
By increasing the limit of moong procurement from 25% to 60%, the government will have to pay approximately ₹6,625 crore extra. Earlier, approximately ₹3,981 crore were to be spent on purchasing 4.54 lakh metric tons of moong.
Now, approximately ₹10,606 crore will have to be paid for the procurement of 12.096 lakh metric tons. This means approximately ₹6,625 crore more will go into farmers’ accounts compared to before.
State Agriculture Minister Endal Singh Kanshana said, “The Madhya Pradesh government has always worked in the interest of farmers. Farmers are the foundation of the state’s economy and prosperity.”
