AgriNation Network
Raipur | 02 Jan 2017

Compelled to destroy vegetable produce everyday on roads for almost a month now, Chhattisgarh farmers have now decided to distribute vegetable for free.  It is being widely reported since demonetization that farmers are not getting money for their vegetable produce, so they have been destroying vegetables on roads.  Photos of tomatoes thrown and destroyed on roads was widely shared on social media. Farmers have decided to go on dharna to distribute one lakh kilogram of vegetables free at Buratalab place in the state capital Raipur. Farmers will congregate under Chhattisgarh Yuva Pragatisheel Kisaan Sangh (CYPKS) on 2^nd Jan 2017 and will distribute 5 – 10 kg vegetables free to every person.  CYPKS have appealed to people to bring carry bags from home and take vegetables free of cost. It said that it was better to give it to people free of cost rather than destroying the produce.
Speaking to reporters, President of CYPKS, Shri Hitesh Varu and Vice President Praveen Chawda, said , “ due to excessive production of vegetables in the state and lack of horticulture processing units in the state, farmers are not getting price for their vegetable produce”. Very soon they will give proposal to state govt to sell vegetables through Fair Price Shops. They said farmers are not getting any price for vegetables like brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage and capsicum. Therefore, the farmers will gather from various districts of the state with their produce. Shri Varu also said, “The way government bailed out people from the impact of price rise of onions that was created by middlemen, it should also bail out farmers by making provisions for selling vegetables through fair price shops and eliminating the cartel of middlemen”.  He further said, “State government should provide shops to farmers by giving them subsidy so that farmer is able to sell the vegetables directly to people and earn”.  They also informed that farmer was not being benefited by selling in mandis; therefore, it has become a problem to sell the produce. CYPKS has demanded appropriate price for their produce, waiving off interest on electricity bills and loans, and extending the period for repaying loans. The Kisaan Sangh will also demand setting up of agro processing industries and sugar mills in the state.

However, last week in a presser in New Delhi, when asked about the sharp drop in wholesale prices of farm produce after the demonetization, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh had said, “For the commodities that have no MSP (Minimum Support Price), we use Intervention Scheme (MIS) to address the price issue. As for onions and potatoes, and other vegetables, there is no MSP, so MIS is used. But the request for the same has to come from states. Centre responds within 24 hours. Many states have taken benefits of MIS in last one year.”
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