New Delhi: The Centre has asked states to ensure that farmers don’t face any problems in shipping exportable items, which will boost farmers’ income during the lockdown.
India is a big exporter of rice, tea, meat, milk products, honey and horticultural products but shipments have come to a standstill because of the lockdown. This has added to the problems of farmers, who are already facing a difficulty in selling their produce in the local market.
“Farmers should not lose on any export opportunity of surplus food items. Every step should be taken to ensure hassle-free export of agri commodities. Officials should come forward and facilitate agri export during this time of crisis,” agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar told officials in a meeting on Tuesday, according to people aware of the matter.
The Centre has identified 21 agricultural products, including honey, potatoes, grapes, soya beans and groundnuts, which Indian can export, taking advantage of the trade restrictions against Chinese goods. In 2018-19, the latest year for which data is available, India’s agricultural exports stood at $38 billion.
Tomar directed officials to set up a control room for proper monitoring and facilitating farmers during lockdown. “We have exempted all kinds of harvesting and sowing activities from lockdown to ensure farmers don’t suffer and lose out during the peak harvesting season. We have opened interstate transportation to facilitate seamless transport of agri products for intra as well as international sale,” he said.
The government has allowed traders and bulk purchasers to buy agricultural products directly from farmgates through farmer producer organisations and government-owned warehouses, bypassing mandis, to ease procurement and transportation of agricultural goods.
“There is a big demand for basmati rice as people around the world have gone into panic buying. But we have stopped taking orders after the lockdown,” said Vijay Setia, a leading exporter of basmati rice. “There is shortage of labourers, rice mills are not working and there are transportation issues. A large number of shipments are stuck due to various reasons.”
Source: indiatimes.com
