Punjab urges NAFED to procure sunflower seeds

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 26

Sunflowers cultivation is all set to bloom in Punjab with the state government fixing June 1 to July 31 as its procurement period.

The government has also requested National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to procure sunflower seed from Punjab “in keeping with the minimum support price (MSP) declared by the Government of India”.

Information to this effect was provided to the Punjab and Haryana High Court as a petition filed in public interest on agricultural issues came up for resumed hearing before the Bench of Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu.

The development is significant as the MSP for sunflower seed was 3,750 per quintal for market season 2014-15. It is yet to be announced for market season 2015-16. During the course of the hearing, an affidavit filed by Punjab Special Secretary Daljeet Singh was placed before the Bench stating that NAFED was to make necessary arrangements for the purchase of sunflower seed at the minimum support price.

Petitioner Gurnam Singh’s counsel JS Toor, on a previous date of hearing, had told the court that the potato crop had largely been damaged, compelling the farmers to go for sunflower cultivation.