IT Desk
The biggest mistake of the top government machineries of the state government, particularly in the state of Manipur is that – they never try to listen to what people are expecting from them.
Well and good, or perhaps an urgent need, the launching of a home delivery market by procuring the products from farmers who can’t sell to the market is an appreciating step taken up by the Chief Minister of Manipur. It is his love for the people and understanding of the problem both faced by the buyers and the sellers that he had taken up this measure of procuring all farming products and later distributing them to the people.
But why MOMA? Why not those top officers in the agriculture as well as the Horticulture sector work out a plan to implement the programme started by the Chief Minister through appropriate agencies. Why are these so-called top government employees misleading the peoples’ Chief Minister while doing good work for the people?
Everybody knows – Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) is a registered society that is acting as state lead agency in Manipur for implementation of Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) Phase – I and Phase II. Its main objective is to promote organic farming and related activities with a vision to convert maximum area of the state into a Chemical free organic zone by 2025.
For the implementation of the scheme, the MOMA gets fund from the Department of Agriculture, Co-operation and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW).
The fund is meant for promotion of the organic products and how could this fund be utilized for purchasing non-organic vegetables from the farmers. Imphal Times have received information from a cultivator that the MOMA authority procured Black rice (Chakhao) from farmers at Rs 80 /- per kg and as per the MOMA market application, the price of 1 kg Chakhao is mention as Rs. 120/- per kg. Brocolli Rs. 120/- Beans Rs. 100/- per kg green chilli Rs. 60 per kg and etc. etc.
The products procured for sale during this pandemic to the people by procuring from the farmers is in violation of the MOMA guidelines. The amount sanctioned for the scheme is also limited to vegetable uses. These sanctioned amounts should be for the promotion of the black aromatic rice, Ginger, Tamenglong Orange, Turmeric, Kachai lemon, Pine Apple, King Chilli, and HVs Rice.
The so call project director of MOMA Mr. Devdutta today tried to clarify that the motive of MOMA is not to earn but to serve the people in time. If that is true then why there are complaints from the watermelon growers for negotiating the price at Rs. 9 per piece when he told the media that they procured it at Rs. 10/-.
Chief Minister had already announced that he had sanctioned Rs. 3 crore to procure farm product from farmers who faced difficulties in selling their crops. If that is so why the Project director of MOMA advised the Chief Minister to use MOMA as a platform when it is clearly mentioned in the guidelines on what MOMA schemes are mean for.
If the motive is for serving the pandemic, the MOMA project director should suggest a better platform by not sabotaging the schemes of the MOMA and bring good names of the Chief Minister.
Now, besides, selling the price of the vegetable procured using fund from MOMA at a higher price and when they are taking delivery fees, how could one just say that it is not a business model.
Selling and buying with an extra cost for delivery is business, and that is what the MOMA is doing. If they (MOMA) think that they are serving people at hard times, why not sell the product at a subsidised rate. Why should the MOMA bargain with the farmers while procuring the vegetable?
And by the way, where are the 8 marketing partners whom they could utilize at this hard time and where are those six selected service providers? Why the selling of the vegetable procured from farmers are only confined in Imphal East and Imphal West.