Paddy procurement in Panjab has been significantly delayed this year due to a combination of logistical, bureaucratic, and political factors. Despite favorable weather, only 22% of the paddy crop has been harvested as of 23 Oct, which is about 20% less than 2023. The delay is attributed to lack of storage space leading to slow procurement and lifting of crops in mandis (grain markets), causing farmers to stall or slow down harvests, which may affect timely wheat sowing scheduled to begin this week. Instead of owning up to the delay, on 26 Oct Panjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann criticized farm unions for protests, stating that ‘excess of everything is bad.’ He assured that the state govt. has addressed concerns of arhtiyas (commission agents) and has raised issues of rice millers with the Center. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher accused the Central govt. of attempting to eliminate paddy and wheat procurement and the Minimum Support Price in Panjab, citing this as the reason for the crisis. Amar Singh Boparai, MP from Fatehgarh Sahib, attributed the crisis in Panjab to the Central govt.’s alleged ulterior motives and the AAP govt.’s mismanagement. Farmer groups under Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM-non-political) and KMM have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Panjab and Haryana since 13 Feb (SDW Vol 2, Issue 31, Story 7). The current procurement crisis is the largest since a similar situation unfolded 25 years ago under Parkash Singh Badal’s SAD govt. At that time, procurement issues became a major concern before the 2002 state assembly elections, which the SAD-BJP alliance lost.
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