Farmers in India's agricultural states like Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab are immensely dismayed and agitated over the government procuring their produce at low market prices.
Upset over not getting the right prices for their produce, farmers in India’s Bihar state have held a unique protest by burning corn cobs in Havan, a Hindu fire ritual to offer things to God to seek His help as a blessing.
The farmers stated that the Indian government is importing their crops at a much lower value than the minimum support price (MSP) of INR 1,850 a ton ($24.50), claiming that they are forced to sell at even below INR 1,000 per ton ($13.24).
बिहार में किसान हवन कर रहे हैं:-
— Ramandeep Singh Mann (@ramanmann1974) June 25, 2020
@narendramodi स्वाहा@nstomar स्वाहा@irvpaswan स्वाहा@NitishKumar स्वाहा
ये रोष इसलिए है की इन किसानों की मक्का Rs 1000/क्विंटल में भी नहीं बिक रही, जबकि न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य 1760/क्विंटल है;और ऊपर से सरकार 5 लाख टन सस्ता मक्का आयात कर रही है pic.twitter.com/Fnw3Nt7FvM
Farmers union President Dhirendra Singh said that Bihar is one of the major corn-producing states in the country, but that there is no procurement centre there. At the same time, the government is planning to purchase five tons of maize at a much lower price.
According to a recent survey, 60% of the farmers who harvested their crops suffered losses and 1/10 of them could not harvest their crop in the past month. 56% of farmers reported that the lockdown has impacted their ability to prepare for the next sowing season.