FCI | SabrangIndia

Provide adequate budget to FCI! Protect the hungry! Demand India’s farmers

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 07:21:00 +0000

Strengthen the procurement system and provide adequate budgets to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), said farmers and other people’s organizations in a memorandum to be submitted to the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs on April 5, 2021.

Marking the day as “FCI Bachao Divas,” farmers announced a plan to gherao all FCI offices and demand various corrections to FCI’s procurement along with longstanding demands of a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and withdrawal of the three farm laws.

“The farmer is concerned about the value of his crops. Major procurement agencies including the FCI are escaping from procurement,” said the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in a press release.

As such, farmers warned of intensified struggles if the central government did not agree to repeal the decision to submit Jamabandhi for wheat procurement. Similarly, the provision of direct payment to bank accounts must be withdrawn. Farmers said that implementing such a policy in haste may result in many complex problems that will keep farmers from availing proper crop prices.

Moreover, farmer leaders said crops must be bought on remunerative MSP. Otherwise, concerned buyers should face strict action. Accordingly, the government should provide proper funds and procurement centres to the FCI. Crop procurement must also be done within minimum time while ensuring that farmers do not face any problem due to shortage of bags and other facilities.

The SKM reminded that India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) service functions through the FCI to provide food for millions of people. Storage should be continued by the government and run smoothly so that people do not have to suffer from hunger. Further, contract employees should receive permanent charges and vacant posts in the FCI should be filled.

On April 3, the Mitti Satyagraha yatra that started from Dandi, Gujarat reached Sirsa, Haryana. There, participants built a kisan chowk to honour the people, who died while participating in the farmers’ struggle. However, farmers alleged that the Sirsa administration and other parties destroyed the memorial at night.

“Earthen pots with soil from the land of martyrs across India were destroyed. The SKM strongly condemns this incident. This is another occasion from where BJP has proved that they are not only disagreeing with the farmers but are also extremely hostile towards farmers,” said farmer leaders.

Nonetheless, the yatra will continue towards Delhi where a ‘martyrs’ memorials’ will be built at border protest sites using the soil collected from across the nation.

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Farmers denounce new FCI guidelines, protests held at govt mandis

Sat, 20 Mar 2021 04:57:05 +0000

Image Courtesy:organiser.org

Farmers at many mandis in India demonstrated against the central government’s agri-related policies on March 19, 2021 in response to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) call for the same.

“The Government of India’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) has brought in new quality specifications and procurement norms in a direct attack on the procurement regime and ongoing protests,” said the SKM adding that farmers submitted memoranda from different protest locations across India in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, for Shahadat Diwas of ‘Muzara Lehar movement’ – the movement in the early twentieth century that secured rights for oppressed tenant farmers – family members of martyrs were felicitated at the Tikri Border protest site on Friday. Families were warmly welcomed by protesters. Bengaluru farmers also paid their respects to martyrs during a well-attended Shraddhanjali meeting on the same day that was joined by SKM leaders.

While these activities took place at Delhi borders, Punjab’s farmer unions joined hands with Arhtiya Association representatives in several places with meetings at Sangrur, Barnala, Jagraon, Rampura and other districts to oppose the new FCI guidelines. Protesters submitted memoranda to Deputy Commissioners. In Kurukshetra and Sirsa of Haryana, mandi secretaries received memorandum addressed to Modi.

In the spirit of a united front by peasants, the SKM extended its full support to the call given by Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions against privatisation of public sector entities and against the four recently enacted labour codes. Farmer leaders also expressed full support for the panchayat to be held at the tehsil- and district-level on March 24 and March 25.

Other initiatives of farmers’ movement also continue such as mahapanchayats in Odisha and Sitamarhi district of Bihar. The Mitti satyagraha that started from Maharashtra has now passed by Barwani Rajghat region in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. Another march, the Kisan Mazdoor Jagriti Yatra from Uttarakhand reached Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh recently and convinced many traders associations and public to make the Bandh call for March 26 a success.

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Farmers reject new FCI proposals for procurement norms

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 05:44:19 +0000

Image Courtesy:indianexpress.com

Farmers declared demonstrations for the Muzara Lehar Shahadat Diwas on March 19, 2021 will highlight the plight and denial of rights of tenant farmers and their resistance to the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) changed procurement norms and specifications.

Earlier, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had warned the Government of India against the irrational move of introducing tighter procurement specifications for food grains. Leaders said that such a move by the FCI defies decades of procurement work.

Notably, the FCI is seeking land record details to set up DBT of procured grain prices, knowing fully well that in many cases actual cultivators are different from the land owners, said the SKM.

“The SKM considers these moves by FCI as an attack on the ongoing movement, and on Punjab which is in the forefront of the struggle. Punjab and Haryana farmers will resist these moves by the FCI very strongly and will chalk out a strategy for the same,” it said.

Among new provisions, FCI is proposing that moisture content in wheat crops be brought down to 12 percent from 14 percent. Similarly, foreign matter will be reduced to 0.50 percent from 0.75 percent, slightly damaged grains will decrease to 2 percent from 4 percent and prevalence of shrivelled and broken grains will reduce to 4 percent from 6 percent.

Proposals for uniform specifications of under central pool foodgrain procurement disallow any prevalence of other foodgrain in wheat whereas up to 2 percent was allowed till date. Further, no infested grains will be purchased any more.

Meanwhile, 32 farmers organisations of Punjab decided on March 18 that farmers will not submit their land record-related papers and asked farmers across India to follow suit. In this regard, leaders said a memorandum will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi via a mandi secretary from every mandi.

On Thursday, the Mitthi Satyagrah Yatra reached Varanasi to collect soil from different parts of India and use it for building a memorial at the Singhu border. As of March 16, around 302 farmers have died while participating in the struggle against the three farm laws: the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance & Farm Services Act, the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

Nonetheless, agitations continue in many parts of the country. The Kisan Mazdoor Jagriti Yatra that started in Uttarakhand has continued till Aliganj region in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. Participants received a warm response from the local public throughout its route.

Regarding grassroot-level mobilisation, a Kisan Mazdoor mahapanchayat was organised in Patna city of Bihar and Nayavas region in Etah on Thursday. The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) Andhra Pradesh chapter and others called for a state level convention in Vizianagaram district to ensure the March 26th Bharat Bandh and other SKM programmes. In Madhya Pradesh, SKM constituents gave a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister demanding MSP procurement for all farmers.

Additionally, as part of the MSP Dilao Abhiyan, the Jai Kisan Andolan introduced an “MSP Loot Calculator” that shows farmers receiving significantly lower prices than the MSP promised in different markets for Channa in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The calculator showed approximately 140 crore rupees loss for farmers in just the first fortnight of March.

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