5,500 MT of moong was purchased in 2022 by MARKFED after relaxing the norms as regards the fair average quality of produce. However, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) only bought 2,500 MT of moong from MARKFED. Thus NAFED and Punjab Mandi Board suffered a loss of Rs 40 crore. Last year 2,500 MT moong was procured by MARKFED for the central pool, without getting specifications relaxed.”The moong is being purchased between Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 per quintal below the MSP and only by the private players. Not a single grain was procured by the government despite tall claims last year as 75 per cent of the total produce had already reached mandis. The yield of the crop has also not increased much despite being sown in more areas this year due to weather conditions. It was cold initially and then too hot,” said a leading Artiya of the state.Talking with this newspaper, Ravinder Singh Cheema, President of Artiya Association, Punjab, said that the state government should procure moong at MSP and only after that the private players in the market will procure it above MSP. Thus farmers will benefit. This year the production of moong is just little more than last year despite the area under cultivation being much more.The saving grace say farmers as this year it is the highest-ever moong which has helped them mitigate the losses caused by selling the crop below the MSP.Balwinder Singh a farmer of Moga who cultivated moong on 32 acres, sold his produce to private players at less than the MSP between Rs 7,800 to Rs 8,000 per quintal. He said the yield was just about 4 to 5 quintals per acre this year, less than last year as it was 6 quintals per acre.Harmeet Singh Kadian of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Kadian) said that the farmers have suffered major losses per acre that this year the state government did not procure even a single grain of moong, despite it being promised last year that it will be procuring moong at MSP every year.”To save water and to diversify which all governments have been harpooning on it was a good crop and should have been promoted,” he added.
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