NGO files PIL urging Telangana government to procure jowar from farmers

Hyderabad: The Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), an NGO working exclusively for farmers' rights, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Telangana High Court on 14 June urging the state government to start procuring jowar from farmers.

RSV's Sree Harsha Thaneeru said they are hoping that they will get a positive outcome.

In the PIL, RSV said jowar farmers are suffering because they are being forced to sell their yield at throwaway prices due to the delay in procurement. The government had announced an MSP of Rs. 2,780 for jowar this year but the market price is around Rs. 1,200–1,800 due to the delay in government intervention.

RSV also asked why the government is not procuring jowar while it is procuring other crops.

It is important to remember that the United Nations had announced 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

In 2021, too, there was a delay in procuring jowar. Initially, state agriculture minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said the government would not procure jowar in 2021 citing the Union government's farm laws. It was only after farmers' protests across Telangana, a PIL filed by RSV, and the High Court order that the state agreed to procure jowar.

"It is not good that every year we have to push the government to act through PILs. Governments should understand the need and act on their own," said Sree Harsha.

Following the Central government announcing MSP of Rs. 2,430 for jowar for the year 2018-19, the Telangana government decided to procure jowar for the first time. Since then, data shows that many farmers have switched from other crops to jowar expecting better returns.

Meanwhile, jowar farmers of Adilabad staged a protest on Monday blocking the main roads in the district. This year, around Rs. 4.5 lakhs worth of jowar has been cultivated in Adilabad alone.

Cover Photo: KisanMitra