Some Uttar Pradesh farmers distributed free potatoes at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday in protest against the falling prices of the vegetable in Agra.
The protest was organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, reported The Times of India.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who was also present at the venue, said,"The latest policies of the government such as demonetisation have increased black markets that have affected the farmers' sales. They have also introduced plans like 0% import duty on wheat — destroying a major percentage of business for farmers."
According to a Mint report, potato production rose 7% year-on-year to 46.5 million tonnes in 2016-17 which led to a dip in wholesale prices. The announcement of demonetisation in November led to the shortage of cash also affected the price. Prices fell from over Rs10 per kg in early November (2016) to less than Rs5 per kg in February, in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra mandi, the report adds.
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There have been protests in Mathura and Aligarh last month.
Scores of farmers had staged a protest at the Mahaban Tahsil office in Mathura, demanding better price for potato.
"The minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 487 per quintal for potato, declared by the government, is inadequate as it does not cover even the cost of production," said Buddha Singh Pradhan, district president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union.
Hundreds of farmers from nearby villages took part in the protest. They threw 500 bags of potato at the Tahsil office gate.
The farmers called off the protest after sub-divisional magistrate Garima Singh assured them that the government would be apprised of their demands.
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(With PTI inputs)
