Pawar asks states to check hoarding, control fodder price

Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today asked state governments to check hoarding and black-marketing of pulses so as to control further rise in their prices and also advised them to take measures to control fodder prices.     

At the conference of state chief secretaries to discuss the food situation due to deficient rainfall, Pawar blamed speculation in the market for skyrocketing prices of pulses and said, "unless effective steps are taken to prevent black-marketing and hoarding, we will not be able to control the price situation."     

Reminding top officials that the power to take action rests with state governments, he said "I call upon you to use these powers effectively to ensure that no black-marketing or hoarding takes place."     

 

Pointing out the fact that the country imports 2.5-3 million tonnes of pulses every year and about 2.6 million tonnes have already been imported this year, he said "there is no reason for prices to rise in this fashion, merely based on a supply-demand gap."     

On fodder, which is crucial for milk production, Pawar advised States to control its prices too. He said the state governments need to adopt price control measures to ensure that fodder is made available at a reasonable price.     

If there are areas where no further agricultural crops (edible by human), can be taken, cultivation of fodder crops may be encouraged, he added.

Pawar told the state officials that an "implementable strategy" needs to be adopted to mitigate the impact of deficient rainfall on agricultural production.     

He also announced that the Agriculture Ministry will advance the Rabi campaign meeting, which is generally held in September to discuss strategies with states for maximising crop production in the Rabi season.     

The centre has also allowed sowing of Truthfully Labeled (TL) seeds only for this season, as their use is normally restricted under government programme, he said. The government supplies only certified seeds to farmers, as TL seeds lack credibility since they are certified by the producers.     

The minister appealed to states which have received good rainfall to enhance crop production and productivity. He stressed the need to sustain the standing crop by using groundwater and other sources of water.     

Pointing that many states have not utilised central funds for various agricultural schemes, he urged them to make optimum use of their financial resources.     
The minister pointed out that the less sowing areas under paddy and sugarcane is a cause of concern. He said only 58 per cent of the normal paddy areas have been sown till date.