Congress, farmer bodies slam M.P. govt over delay in wheat procurement; BJP blames bag shortage due to West Asia war

The Congress slammed Madhya Pradesh’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over multiple delays in the beginning of wheat procurement in the State, saying that the situation may force farmers to sell their produce to middle-persons at low prices. 

Several farmers’ organisations, including the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) have also criticised the government and demanded the procurement be started soon. 

The criticism comes after the State government on March 30 said that the procurement will commence from April 10 in 24 districts of four divisions and from 15 April in the remaining 31 districts of remaining Chambal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Rewa, Shahdol, and Sagar divisions. 

“Revising the procurement date by the State Government, wheat procurement will be done in Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal and Narmadapuram divisions from April 10 and wheat procurement in the remaining divisions will be done from April 15,” the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department said in an order.

This is the second time in the past one month that the government postponed the date. 

While procurement in the State usually begins from March 15, the government had earlier announced that it would commence from April 1 this year.

On Tuesday (March 31), State BJP Kisan Morcha (farmers wing) president Jaipal Singh Chhavda attributed the delay to a shortage, which he said was caused by the war in West Asia, of polymers used in manufacturing polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethene (HDPE) bags, which are used for packaging grains.

“To address this situation, the Central Government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has allocated an additional 50,000 bales of jute to the state of Madhya Pradesh. Furthermore, to ensure an uninterrupted procurement process, the Central Government has granted permission to procure wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) using PP and HDPE bags as well,” he said, speaking to the media.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari on Wednesday (April 1) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that if the procurement arrangements are not made soon, he will sit on a hunger strike in front of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence in Bhopal.

“In Madhya Pradesh, the government procurement of wheat under the Rabi marketing season is being widely trumpeted, and a massive target — spanning millions of metric tons — has even been set for its acquisition. However, the stark ground reality is that the state government lacks the very bardana (gunny bags) required to store the wheat that represents the farmers’ hard-earned produce. Farmers sit in the mandis with their harvested crops, exposed to the open sky, while the administration merely laments the systemic failures,” he wrote.

“The State’s farmers are currently drowning in debt. The deadlines for repaying loan instalments have passed, yet due to the negligence of the Mohan government, farmers are compelled to sell their produce to middle-persons at distressingly low prices,” Mr. Patwari said.

Speaking to The Hindu, BKS State president Kamal Singh Anjana said that while procurement date is being repeatedly postponed, the farmers are getting no extension for their loan repayment deadlines. 

Mr. Anjana said that BKS representatives held press conferences in various parts of the State on Wednesday (April 1) and put forth some demands for the farmers. “If the government does not take the demands seriously, we will launch a massive agitation on April 6,” he said. 

At a press conference in Indore, BKS Malwa region president Lakshminarayan Patel said, “Due to no extension of the loan repayment deadline, about 60 percent of farmers in the Malwa region are on the verge of defaulting, further adding to their difficulties.”

The BKS has also demanded that the limit of 11 quintals per acre be increased on wheat procurement.

The wheat this year will be procured at a price of ₹2,625 per quintal, which includes the MSP of ₹2,585 and a ₹40 bonus announced by the State Government in March. 

Published – April 02, 2026 08:20 am IST