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'Sauda patrak' turns bane for farmers in lockdown

INDORE: Trade commitment through ' sauda patrak ' in the lockdown period aimed at facilitating farmers to sell their produce to traders at doorsteps without visiting mandis, is refraining many from the benefit of fair market price, while trade enquires are also less, claimed farmers.


Farmers claimed only a handful of them are being approached by traders at farm level, while prices offered are lower than the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government.



MSP for wheat this season is Rs 1,925 per quintal. In a bid to avoid gathering of farmers in mandis and aid them sell produce at their doorstep in lockdown period, Madhya Pradesh government introduced a system of trade through "sauda patrak", a legal document of trade commitment between a trader and farmer outside the mandi premises.

Though, officials said, the system was already in place, use was limited and this year amid the Covid-19 outbreak, trade was allowed outside the mandi premises via sauda patrak.

According to mandi board around 1 lakh quintal per day of wheat is being bought by traders in Indore division through sauda patrak besides around 300 temporary trade centrers have also been opened in the division where farmers can sell produce to traders.

Satish Chandra Nayak, a farmer from Rangwasa village in Depalpur said, "Traders are offering Rs 1,600-Rs 1,700 per quintal for lokwan wheat. Traders do not have money to offer good prices and we are not able to move out to sell produce. With rains on the head, we are in a big trap."

Farmers from Depalpur, Dewas, Badnawar and Ujjain claimed poor offers from traders for good quality lokwan and mill quality produce.

As a safety precaution and to comply to social distancing, the system of open auction of produce in presence of traders and farmers in mandis has been replaced by "sauda patrak" this year authorizing licensed trader to struck a deal with farmers and later seal the deal through "sauda patrak" issued by the mandi samiti.

Farmers said, less number of registrations to sell produce to government societies at MSP and lockdown have escalated problems for them, especially the marginal farmers lacking storage capacity.

Another farmer Lokendra Singh Thakur from village Nai Baroda said, "Traders know the limitations of farmers especially those having small farm holds. Even big farmers are helpless because mandis are shut and very few farmers have been able to register themselves this year."

Farmers said, the registration window should be extended so that more farmers can get themselves registered. Traders on the other hand said dis-colourisation and inferior quality produce is fetching poor prices.

Madhya Pradesh Anaj Dalhan Tilhan Vyapar Sangh president Gopaldas Agrawal said, "Traders are offering prices as per the quality of the produce. For good quality like chandausi and lokwan, market rates are offered."

Another trader Nimesh Agrawal, former president of Anaj Tilhan Vavsayik Sangh, Ujjain said, "We are offering over Rs 1900 per quintal for good quality produce. Due to untimely rains, crop suffered dis-colurisation in some pockets and those are fetching poor prices."

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