“This is the duty of the procurement agency to procure the produce, farmers need to be educated-Bohar Singh Dhaliwal-District president of BKU Sidhupur Ekta,Faridkot.
Raghbir Singh Brar
Faridkot
The most disputed issue between the farmers and the procurement agencies is the moisture content. If it is within the limits of the purchase,ie,17 per cent in the paddy, it would be procured. But the big question mark pops up here, who would decide that the produce has not more than 17 per cent moisture?
The simple question is that,practically, it would be allegedly the rice miller who would finally decide whether to buy this product or not.
There are the three parties to check the moisture of the paddy brough to the market, first of all the market committee, which checks the moisture of the paddy transported to the grain market at the entrance,then the commission agent after loading the paddy and then the rice miller who has to finally give his approval whether to buy that produce or not.
“The moisture metres of the market committee are accurate.But then there is variation among all the moisture metres .The same paddy heap checked by the market committee is permissible to the limit, then the commission agent checks it and finds some variation and finally,there must be a nod by the rice miller who says yes to buy the produce,but moisture allegedly increases andallegedly proposed cuts are there.The representatives of the rice millers could be seen running from produce to produce and checking all the heaps and then allegedly finally finding faults with some that they have above normal moisture.If a farmer is made to wait for many days in the grain market, finally he would be forced to sell his crop at reduced rate/distress sale,” the farmers and all others into this business claim.
But Harpal Singh Sandhu, president of the rice millers association Faridkot shifts the blame to the procurement agencies.
“It is the responsibility of the procurement agencies that they ensure the quality of the produce, moisture, cleaning and all other things,but they are not duly performing their duties.If they procure upto the quality mark produce, then it is Okay,but if it isn’t so, then it would be returned by the rice miller where is was supposed to be stocked,’ said Harpal Singh Sandhu,president of the rice millers association district Faridkot.
Sandhu said that when the procurement agencies do not perform their proper role, the commission agents for their convenience ask for the millers’ consent.
“All the responsibility of procurement and lifting lies with the procurement agencies,but they avoid their responsibility.So it comes to the commission agents and then to the rice millers,” Sandhu said.
Sandhu also blamed the commission agents and the farmers to be hand in glove.
“When the moisture in the produce is higher, the farmers ask the commission agents to sell it off by accepting cuts,but later on they start complaining of this issue.If there is permissible moisture is the produce, then there is no cut and we stand by the farmers against any of our miller of it happens so,’Sandhu said.
About the variation of the moisture metres, Sandhu claimed that the moisture metres of the rice millers are correct as they have to deliver the shelled rice to the FCI which has strict norms.
There are about 200 rice mills in the district.
Bohar Singh Dhaliwal,district president of the BKU Sidhupur Ekta said that decisive moisture meters are of the market committee.
“There were some problems in village Sher` Singh Wala under grain market committee Sadak.We asked the procurement agencies to check the moisture and procure the produce. If the produce is within the limits of moisture checked by the market committee and procurement agencies, then it must be procured.It is the duty of the procurement agency to have the procured produce stacked with rice miller,” said Bohar Singh Dhaliwal.
He said that wherever the farmers are educated, they resist the distress sale and inform us but some very simple farmers fall into this trap.
But most of the things are allegedly on paper, reality is totally different, where only farmers have pay the price of it.
The question arises if the procurement agencies are not performing well, why an action not be initiated against those officials?
Why the rice millers are allegedly give free hand that if they donot approve the produce to be purchaseworthy,it may be returned back?
Why market committee officials do not visit each farmer in the market and check the moisture?
The obvious reason is that there is allegedly corruption.