Farmers at receiving end, paddy procurement stalled in Sangrur

Demanding a rollback of the decision and implementation of the old commission system, commission agents said earlier they got 2.5% of the notified MSP of the crop, but now their commission had been fixed lower at ₹46 per quintal, which is 2% of the MSP.

Procurement of paddy came to a standstill in Sangrur district on Wednesday after arthiyas (commission agents) went on a strike against the central government for lowering their commission.

Heaps of paddy lying in the open at the Sangrur grain market as procurement came to a standstill due to the strike by commission agents on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Demanding a rollback of the decision and the implementation of the old commission system, the agents said earlier they got 2.5% of the notified minimum support price (MSP) of the crop, but now their commission had been fixed lower at ₹46 per quintal, just 2% of the MSP.

Pawan Kumar, the president of the Sangrur Arhtiya Association, said, “We are receiving at least ₹9 less than the old commission system. The MSP of paddy is ₹2,203 a quintal but we get only ₹45.88 a quintal. If the old commission method was implemented, we would have got ₹55.70 per quintal.”

Jagtar Singh Samra, the president of the Artiya Association at Dhuri, said, “The payment of ₹45 crore is pending towards the Food Corporation of India. The procurement agency had not released ₹45 crore of labour cost, which was being withheld on the account of EPF. We demand the central government implement the old commission method. We will continue to protest till our demands are not met.”

Buggar Singh, a local farmer, said they were at the receiving end due to the strikes by labourers, rice-shellers and now by arhtiyas as their harvested crops were lying in the open at grain markets.

“Another five acres under paddy is ready for harvest but due to the strike of arhtiyas, it will be delayed and could lead to decreased yield,” he said.

Another farmer from Namol, Happy Singh, said that the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government has been claiming to transfer crop payment to farmers within hours but due to the strike ofarhtiyas, the procurement process is at a standstill.

He said if the strike lasts longer, it would force farmer unions to initiate action against the government as their tall claims are felling flat.

District mandi officer Jaspal Singh said, “Procurement has been stopped since morning due to the strike. The arhtiyas and representatives of the state government are meeting to resolve the issue at the earliest.”