Indore, April 1 Farmer organizations in Madhya Pradesh announced on Wednesday that they would launch a protest over the delay in wheat procurement at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) by the state government.
Madhya Pradesh is one of the top wheat-producing states in the country. This year, the state government has decided to provide a bonus of Rs 40 per quintal to farmers, paying a total MSP of Rs 2,625 per quintal.
Lakshminarayan Patel, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh's Malwa Province (Indore-Ujjain division), said that wheat procurement typically begins around March 15, but this year it has been repeatedly delayed.
He alleged that the government was making "false claims" that the delay was due to a shortage of plastic bags caused by the conflict in West Asia.
"Due to this delay, about 60 percent of farmers have been declared loan defaulters as they are unable to repay loans to banks and cooperative societies. Traders, on the other hand, are taking unfair advantage of the situation and purchasing wheat at prices below the MSP," Patel claimed.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader Bablu Jadhav said that the state government's inconsistent and disorganized wheat procurement policies have put farmers in a crisis.
"March 15 was initially announced as the date for the start of wheat procurement. Then it was postponed to April 1. Now it has been pushed back to April 10. In some divisions, they have decided to begin procurement from April 15. This delay is an injustice to farmers and a setback to their hard work," he said.
If the arrangements for wheat procurement at MSP are not streamlined and loan repayment dates are not extended, the farmers would be forced to launch a massive protest, Jadhav said.