Tardy procurement in Punjab forces farmers to sell paddy in Haryana

With millers and arhtiyas continuing their strike in Punjab, many farmers from the border areas are heading to Haryana to sell paddy, citing slow procurement in local mandis as the primary reason.

Farmer unions have also decided to stage a rail roko protest tomorrow over the tardy procurement process.

Prem Singh Bhangu, president of the All India Kisan Federation, revealed that three cases have already come to their notice about farmers selling their produce in Haryana.

“The mandi system in Haryana is well-organised. The government has mapped the land owned by farmers and the expected produce, and procurement is carried out through a digital portal. Some of these farmers may have sold their crop to fellow farmers in Haryana,” Bhangu said. “This is happening due to delayed procurement in Punjab mandis,” he added.

There have been reports of farmers from areas such as Ghanaur, Samana, Lachru, Kapuri and Shadipur selling paddy in Haryana, due to procurement delay in Punjab.

Kahan Singh Pannu, former IAS officer and Chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, who took up farming after retirement, said tardy procurement and the ongoing strike by arhtiyas and millers had led to anxiety among farmers. “Many small farmers in the border regions are going to Haryana to sell their produce. They are doing so as they have limited time and means to clear their fields quickly to prepare them for sowing wheat,” Pannu said.