More grain than gains

Wheat and paddy are the main crops of Punjab and their production touched 136 lakh tonne and 100 lakh tonne respectively this year. Both are procured for the Central kitty. But despite shortages, lakhs of bags of the crops rot every year. Several officials in the State are facing action for mismanagement of grains in connivance with traders. This time, however, the Punjab Government is blaming the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal purchase agency, for its chaotic procurement during this marketing season.

According to Minister for Agriculture Gurdev Singh Badal, this has been an unusual year because paddy production increased by 30 lakh tonne. Even market arrivals have overshot the original target of 72 lakh tonne to touch 96 lakh tonne.

The authorities, which were caught unawares, tried to mend affairs by setting up 300 new procuring centres. Officials say this step to create seasonal centres in farmers’ fields was based more on political considerations than on expert opinion. The result: paddy lying in an open area germinated as unseasonal rains lashed the State during October and November. Farmers, who were tempted to bring their produce to temporary market yards, lost not only money but also had to wait for days for the stuff to dry to be auctioned.

In fact, of the 1,350 grain centres in Punjab barely 147 have sheds to protect the produce against nature and only 300 have concrete flooring.About 5,000 tonnes of dust is also purchased along with wheat and paddy for the central pool from such centres every year, remarks FCI Senior Zonal Manager, Sarvesh Kaushal. Mechanical cleaners, driers and bulk weighing facilities for speedy disposal of produce are non-existent in most mandis. This results in a glut situation irregularities during peak marketing season.

Nearly Rs 1,000 crore worth of taxes are collected from farmers during a season but there is no move to spend it on improving mandi infrastructure. Strangely, the Punjab Agricultural Marketing Board this year has stopped mechanisation of grain markets on the plea of irregularities in previous purchases worth crores.

A study by the economics department of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has observed that even under normal circumstances farmers are fleeced of Rs 90 crore annually by corrupt traders and officials for these two crops alone.

The origins of the problem lie in excess production of both wheat and paddy despite expert opinion to curtail their acreage and replace them with other crops such as oil seeds, cotton, sugarcane, horticulture, forestry, floriculture and cash crops. With some other states also making strides in agriculture, the demand for grain from Punjab has ebbed whereas its production has been growing.

For instance, during the 1970-71 season less than 10 per cent of the total cultivable area in the State grew paddy. It jumped to 28 per cent in 1980-81, 47.7 per cent in 1990-91 and 53 per cent this year. With cotton crop having perished in nearly 1 lakh hectare this year due to water-logging and floods, this area is certain to shift to paddy next year as the department of agriculture has also recommended the same to farmers for the next three years at least. This will further accentuate the problem of paddy glut.

Similarly, wheat occupied only 37 per cent of the area in 1961 which increased to 56.7 per cent during the Seventies and now accounts for 79 per cent of the total acreage.

According to the secretary of the Punjab Marketing Board, Paramjit Singh Aujla, under no circumstances can mandis clear the glut within one month. Moreover, it would not only require huge funds to provide concrete floor and cover at each purchase centre at a cost of Rs 9 crore but also be a waste since the structures would lie idle rest of the year.

The solution, according to him, lies in persuading the farmers to stagger bringing their produce to mandis over a few months for which they should be offered monetary incentives. And this would not cost the Government agencies extra as it would curtail their storage expenses. Besides, it would also prompt farmers to reschedule sowing and harvesting of crops, accordingly. A switch to other crops by offering better terms to growers, including crop insurance, has also been recommended.

According to the PAU, which has called for streamlining the marketing board, the training of agricultural extension staff must shift emphasis from mere farm production to proper marketing of their produce. Farmers must be educated to grow crops and adopt post-harvest practices with an eye on the market so as to be spared the hassles.