Facing price crash: Mustard farmers cry for help, better market avenues

Samay Singh, a mustard seed grower in Gudawali village, is busy harvesting but is worried that he may not get a better price for his produce this year as the wholesale rate in mandi here has already crashed below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,450 per quintal.

Last year, Singh had harvested three quintals of mustard seed in his half acre land and sold at an average rate of Rs 7,000 per quintal. This year, yield is higher as there was no pest infestation and he expects production of at least four quintals but fears he may not get even MSP this time.

Harikishan Sharma, a farmer from Dheeg block, is shocked at the mustard prices which began falling from October 2022 onwards, much before the harvesting and somewhere feels the cheaper palmolien imports is the culprit.

In the last three months, mustard prices have fallen from Rs 8,000 per quintal to Rs 5,200 per quintal in Bharatpur mandis, the hub for mustard production and processors, according to these farmers.

Farmers in thi