APMC ceases procurement of toor dal citing gunny bag shortage, farmers fume

According to the farmers, the last date of procurement of toor dal by the government-run APMC markets was until April 24. However, owing to a shortage of gunny bags, which are mandatory for packing the toor before the APMC procures it, the procurement was closed on Thursday, five days ahead of the deadline.

A farmer, Govind Gajera said, “They are telling us that they have exhausted the stock of gunny bags that have to be provided to us for sealing the grains before weighing it for sale. Where have the gunny bags gone? They should answer us.”

Farmers said that as much as 80 per cent of the toor yield was lying unsold in Sankheda alone. The region, officials say, has seen a produce of over 1.72 lakh quintals of toor dal from 6,050 hectare. The market price per quintal is Rs 3,700 while the government procured the grains for Rs 5,050 per quintal.

Another farmer, Mohammad Anwar, said: “About 150 of us have come together to submit a memorandum to the collector. When PM Narendra Modi came to Tapi last week, he announced that there was good news for us as the procurement had been extended. But in the Bhadarpur APMC sub-yard, the toor procurement went on only for two days, not even till the extended deadline. Now, they say they cannot procure more as the quota of bags allotted to the APMC has been exhausted. This is unbelievable.”

Another farmer, Mahendra Amin, said that many farmers had arrived in the APMC almost a week ago, renting tractors to transport their yield. “We have to pay rent to the tractor owners as not all of us own tractors. The number of days that the tractor remains standing in the market sub-yard, the farmer is also bearing the rent for the same. We have no other option but to go on a fast unto death if our yield is left to rot in the market yard.”

While the APMC officials remained unavailable for comment, an official of the district administration said, “The APMC has to resolve this issue and we believe that they have met with the Agriculture Minister, Chimanbhai Sapariya, in Gandhinagar. The fact is that the Bhadarpur sub yard received about 23,500 bags out of the 48,000 gunny bags provided to Sankheda taluka for procurement of toor dal. Each bag can contain up to 50 kg of grains. Hence, out of the 1.72 lakh quintal produced in the region, only 24,000 quintal has been sold in two sub-yards put together —Bhadarpur and Kaledia.”

The final date of procurement of toor dal by the government was April 24.