Farmers slam Punjab Agro for buying lion’s share of kinnows from the Badal farm
Farmers in Abohar, cultivating kinnow on 34,000 hectares out of Punjab's total 47,000 hectares, staged a protest on Friday to express their dissatisfaction with Punjab Agro's procurement methods.
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Farmers three kinnow on the road near DC Fazilka office and crushed it under the wheels of tractor in protest. (Express Photo)
Punjab Agro, the agricultural processing wing of the Punjab government, appears to heavily rely on five prominent farmers in Muktsar, Bathinda, and Fazilka districts, notably Sukhbir Singh Badal, the president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), for kinnow procurement. This year, a significant portion of the 4230 metric tonnes of the citrus fruit – precisely 1100 metric tons – was sourced from the kinnow orchards spanning 74 acres owned by Sukhbir
Singh Badal.
Farmers in Abohar, cultivating kinnow on 34,000 hectares out of Punjab’s total 47,000 hectares, staged a protest on Friday to express their dissatisfaction with Punjab Agro’s procurement methods. Punjab Agro officers, however, said that most of the farmers have land below 10 acres, with only four having 20 acres or more.
The protesters also alleged discrimination in procurement rates. Data from Punjab Agro revealed that during the 2023-24 financial year, Badal farms were offered Rs 12.4 per kg. Other farmers, like Samrinder Singh Dhillon and Jagroop Singh, were paid Rs 11.15 and Rs 11.75 per kg, respectively, for their kinnow crops.
Apart from Badal, Punjab Agro has also procured kinnow from Indermeet Singh Bains and Arshdeep Singh, paying rates of Rs 12.25 and Rs 12.9 per kg, respectively.
Sukhmander Singh, president of BKU Rajewal – Fazilka unit, pointed out, “Out of the total 4,230 metric tons, 2,080 metric tonnes are being procured from five big farmers only, leaving small farmers to fend for themselves.”
Darshan Singh, another farmer union leader of BKU Rajewal from Giddranwali village, said, “We have no issues with any big farmer or high-profile person’s kinnow being taken, but we want small farmers not to be ignored, as they are running from pillar to post in order to get a fair price for their crops. On Friday, we came with over 100 trolleys loaded with ker (fruit which drops on its own) to protest. We were stopped by authorities on Fazilka road for hours, and later, we managed to reach the DC office to protest.” He added, “Now we have been given time on February 13 to meet with the GM of Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation. After this assurance, we lifted the dharna and went home.”
Punjab Agro stressed the importance of kinnow quality in procurement, grading fruit into A, B, C, and D categories. Jagnoor Singh Grewal, additional managing director of Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation, said, “A kinnow is graded into A, B, C, and D categories based on quality. Once procurement is done, we have to pick the entire orchard, which undoubtedly contains all types of fruit. However, we cannot take the entire orchard with C&D categories; a significant portion needs to be of A&B grading. The selection of orchards is based on quality, and preference is always given to small farmers. At the same time, 3-4 large farmers are essential for the commercial viability of the processing project,” said Jagnoor Singh Grewal, additional managing director of Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation in conversation with The Indian Express.
He added, “Thirty farmers are from 17 different villages. In the financial year 2022-23, we processed kinnow from only 200 acres, and this financial year, the area has increased to around 370 acres. We will undertake more
procurement in the coming days, gradually increasing the processing. Next year, we are hopeful of further expansion.”
He mentioned, “More than 4000 MT has already been picked this year, and we aim to reach 9000-10,000 MT for the season. Last year, the entire season amounted to around 5000 MT.” Grade A and B are packed and sold in the
market, while grade C and D are processed into juices. Punjab Agro is also currently producing a gin called OreGin from kinnow.
Punjab Agro authorities claimed that a handful of private contractors, disguising as protestors, are pressuring them to buy grade C&D fruit.
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