Gujarat Agriculture Minister Initiates Scheme to Boost Millet Cultivation

To encourage millet cultivation in Gujarat, the state government is currently developing a scheme to offer support to farmers in acquiring seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection chemicals, announced Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel during a speech in Rajkot on Friday. Furthermore, Patel mentioned that the government has already commenced the procurement of millet directly from farmers.

The announcement arrives as farmers have shown little interest in the government's efforts to procure millets at the minimum support price (MSP) during the current Rabi marketing season.

Emphasizing that the state's budget for 2023-24 has allocated Rs 30 crore to the Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation for millet procurement from farmers, Patel expressed the need to provide farmers with support in purchasing inputs to encourage them to cultivate millets in larger areas.

According to official data provided by the Gujarat state government, pearl millet, and sorghum are major crops cultivated in the region. In the 2022 Kharif season, farmers sowed pearl millet across 1.85 lakh hectares, while in the 2023 summer season, the cultivation area expanded to 2.79 lakh hectares.

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The combined production of these crops amounted to 1.14 million metric tons. In a bid to commemorate the International Year of Millets, the state government took the unprecedented step in March of procuring pearl millet, hybrid sorghum, maldandi sorghum, finger millet, and maize from farmers at minimum support prices.

The procured grains are subsequently being distributed through the public distribution system to support the underprivileged. Initially, the government had planned to procure these grains at the MSPs set by the Union government, which are Rs 2,350 per quintal for pearl millet, Rs 2,970 for hybrid sorghum, Rs 2,990 for maldandi sorghum, Rs 3,578 for finger millet, and Rs 1,962 for maize.

According to a government source, the registration window for farmers was opened from March 1 to 31. However, the response from farmers was tepid due to market prices being equal to or higher than the Minimum Support Price (MSP). As a result, the government announced an additional bonus of Rs 300 for bajra, jowar, and finger millet above their respective MSP on May 9. Consequently, the registration window has been extended beyond the initial deadline.

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The state's department of food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs has set a procurement target for the Rabi marketing season of 2022-23. They aim to acquire 45,000 metric tonnes (MT) of bajra, 4,000 MT of jowar, 1,000 MT of finger millet, and 10,000 MT of maize.

To incentivize farmers, a bonus of Rs 300 per quintal has been offered, resulting in effective procurement prices of Rs 2,650 for bajra, Rs 3,270 for jowar, and Rs 3,878 for ragi. Procurement centers were established on April 1 and are scheduled to operate until June 15.

For approximately two months, the government procurement centers have witnessed a meager turnout of only 44 out of 7,432 farmers, who have brought in a total of 168 quintals of bajra. Disappointingly, there has been zero procurement of jowar and ragi, as none of the farmers have responded to the government's SMS alerts instructing them to transport their produce to the procurement centers. Furthermore, only 17 farmers, all hailing from Mahisagar district, have managed to sell 99 quintals of maize to the government.

Addressing the situation, Patel, the responsible official, acknowledged that farmers are not actively coming forward to sell their harvest to the government. He noted that despite the announcement of a bonus, farmers are not rushing to avail the opportunity. This suggests that the prevailing market prices are relatively higher, making the government's procurement less appealing to the farmers.

-Indian Express 

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