In a move that would benefit farmers to a great extent, the government has issued orders for procurement of jowar from farmers at an MSP of ₹2,738 per quintal, as declared by the Union government.
MarkFed was entrusted with the responsibility of commencing the procurement immediately. The orders were issued by Agriculture secretary M. Raghunandan Rao on Wednesday.
The government is looking towards a target of about 1,31,345 MTs from farmers across the State.
“Major victory for jowar farmers and for MSP campaign! Govt should have started procurement in May instead of waiting until we filed PIL,” said Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) after the orders.
On Tuesday, the Telangana High Court issued a notice to the State government to respond to the PIL filed by Rythu Swarajya Vedika activist S. Borranna of Adilabad district, seeking procurement of jowar at MSP.
Borranna said, “This is a major victory for farmers of Telangana. Rythu Swarajya Vedika has been campaigning for jowar procurement in Adilabad district and had organised multiple protests by farmers since May. The farmers who followed the government’s advice to grow crops other than paddy, were having to sell jowar crop under severe loss at a price of ₹1,500-1,700 per quintal while MSP is ₹2,738 per quintal.”
