Traders’ Racket Dumps Maha Jowar In TG
Despite procurement norms, the illegally sourced jowar is being passed off as local produce.
Adilabad:Some middlemen and local businessmen are reportedly purchasing jowar from farmers in Maharashtra, where the price stands at around Rs 2,200 per quintal, and selling it in Telangana’s agricultural market yards in Adilabad, Mancherial, Komaram Bheem Asifabad and Nirmal districts at the the minimum support orice (MSP) of Rs 3,371. The government purchases jowar through the Telangana State Markfed via primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS) from the farmers.
There are also reports of some Maharashtra farmers using their relatives in Telangana to sell their crop in the former Adilabad district.
Despite procurement norms, the illegally sourced jowar is being passed off as local produce. This manipulation is particularly rampant in districts that share borders with Maharashtra.
Following negotiations between the state government and agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Telangana agreed to procure up to 14 quintals of jowar per acre from each farmer. Local political leaders from Adilabad had earlier urged the minister to allow procurement at this scale, citing a bumper crop.
The ground reality appears different, with a large portion of the grain reportedly arriving from neighbouring Maharashtra.
The crop is currently being procured through Markfed at designated centres across the district. However, there are widespread allegations that some Maharashtra farmers are securing procurement coupons, meant only for Telangana farmers, with the help of their relatives and selling their crop at these centres.
Similar instances were reported earlier during the fine variety paddy procurement drive, where Maharashtra farmers allegedly sold paddy in Telangana’s Nalgonda district to benefit from the `500 state bonus.
Middlemen and traders are said to be offering between `100 and `200 per coupon to local farmers in exchange for using their names during procurement. Allegations have also surfaced that some local agriculture and Markfed officials are turning a blind eye or even indirectly facilitating this racket.