The farmers who sold wheat for Rs 4,000 per quintal last year are compelled to sell it for Rs 3,800 for the same amount this year.
A farmer Ruplal Chaudhari said they were worried after they did not get adequate price for the wheat they produced with much investment- time and cost. "We are bound to sell wheat at lesser price this year, while we deserve more," he said, explaining that there were hassles unbound- unavailability of chemical fertilizers and seeds, difficulty in timely irrigation.
"We toiled much but are getting little price," he added.
Manjit Rawal from Tikapur argued the problem surfaced because the government did not fix the support price of wheat on time. On the other hand, the storm occurred some weeks back caused decline in wheat production.
Even the collection centre does not provide proper rate, causing loss to farmers.
A trader at Tikapur, Bhim Bahadur Thakulla, said he was selling per quintal of husked wheat for Rs 3,800. But the wheat requiring husking is sold for Rs 3,600 per quintal. Even the quality matters, according to him.
On the other hand, Pahalman Saud from Tikapur, said they purchased four quintals of wheat grain for Rs 4,200 per quintal. He observed the price he paid was normal compared to the last year. "Last year, I had bought the wheat grain at the same price this year. I came here to buy it on time, reasoning the price would increase later," he shared.
Last year, the government had fixed the minimum support price of wheat at Rs 3,867.38. The support price was in increasing trend every year. But, it is not fixed yet this year.
However, the Agriculture Ministry at province informed that it has sent a proposal at the federal Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply for support price conducting study.
A technician at agriculture section of Tikapur municipality, Moti Sing BK, also said if the support price of wheat is fixed on time, the farmers would not bear loss.(RSS)
