Chandumajra demands immediate relief for potato farmers from centre

Jalandhar, March 6, 2017: Demanding immediate relief to the potato farmers, Shiromani Akali Dal General Secretary and party MP from Anandpur Sahib Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra today said he would meet Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan tomorrow at Delhi to impress upon him to make immediate intervention and direct central agencies like NAFED to make arrangement for procurement of potatoes and also for export of the commodity.
He said he would apprise the Union Minister about the crisis that potato farmers are facing in the wake of lack of demand so that the farmers get remunerative price for their crop. He said potato can be exported to countries in Africa, Gulf and Russia.
Prof Chandumajra estimated the production of potatoes in Punjab at about 20 lac tonnes and the crop was rotting in the fields. As against the cost of Rs 700 per quintal, the farmer was getting only about Rs 200 per quintal. The farmers in Punjab alone would suffer a loss of about Rs 100 crore thereby deepening the farm crisis. He said suicides by the potato farmers had already started.
He would also raise this issue in the Lok Sabha during forthcoming budget session of the Parliament beginning from March 9.