Farmer body demands early procurement of sunflower crop

Kurukshetra: The farmers' body, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), has urged the Haryana govt to begin procuring the sunflower crop from May 25 instead of June 1 and extend the procurement period by at least 15 days to safeguard farmers' interests.In a letter to Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and director of the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department, Haryana, the BKU (Charuni) stated that sunflower arrivals in mandis across the state were currently at their peak, while the govt procurement was scheduled to start on June 1.BKU (Charuni) national president, Gurnam Singh Charuni, said the delay in procurement was causing serious inconvenience to farmers. He stated that farmers were being forced to dry and clean their produce before taking it back home and later transporting it again to the mandis, leading to additional expenses and hardship.The farmers' union demanded that govt procurement of the sunflower crop should commence on May 25 to prevent unnecessary financial losses and difficulties for farmers.It further stated that this year's sunflower production exceeded previous years, meaning the existing 30-day procurement period would be insufficient.The BKU (Charuni) warned that a large number of farmers could be deprived of selling their produce at the minimum support price (MSP) if the procurement window was not extended.The farmers' body appealed to the Haryana govt to make an early decision on both demands in the interest of the farmers.MSID:: 131229176 413 |