Chouhan asks Centre to purchase bumper crops

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said the Centre has given an assurance that it will buy onions and various kinds of lentils from farmers in the wake of a price fall and a 20 percent agriculture growth in the state this year.

Chouhan conveyed this appeal to Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh here, and also asked the Centre to postpone the date of purchase from June 30 to July 15.

"Madhya Pradesh has witnessed 20 percent agricultural growth, and it was possible because of the farmers' hard work and the government's schemes. However these figures have also led to a problem. We have produced 32 lakh metric tons of onions which has led to fall in prices due to which the farmers were unable to get good prices," Chouhan said.

He said that by July 15 the government will purchase 8, 00,000 MT of onions from farmers.

This comes in the wake of a recent farmers' agitation who have been protesting to waive off farm loans and better prices for their produce.

During the agitation, five farmers were killed by the police, a move that was severely criticised and the Chouhan-eld government faced flak from all of the Opposition parties.

So far 17 farmers have committed suicide since the protests started in Mandsaur by farmers on June 6.

The government has ordered a judicial inquiry to probe the situation. Retired High Court judge, Justice J. K. Jain was appointed as the single member of the commission.