The Hindu : Kerala News : Failure to procure paddy puts farmers to hardship

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Failure to procure paddy puts farmers to hardship

By Our Staff Reporter

PALAKKAD, FEB. 10. The failure of government agencies and cooperative societies to start procurement of paddy at the price announced by the Government for the current second crop has put farmers in the district to hardship.

Though the Government has announced a procurement price of Rs.7.50 a kg for matta rice and Rs.7 for white rice, no agency has come forward to purchase it. The current market price of paddy in the district is between Rs.5 and Rs.6 a kg. And farmers who are reeling under heavy debts are forced to sell the produce at low price.

Cooperative societies are not keen on procuring paddy as they have not yet been paid the Rs.3.8-crore handling charges for the first crop of last season. The societies and padasekhara samities had bought 38,366 tonnes of paddy last season at Rs.8.30 for matta and Rs.7.50 for white rice. They are now finding it difficult to sell the produce owing to the crash in prices in the open market.

Higher subsidy sought

The societies wanted the Government to give them the difference in the prices as subsidy to enable them to clear the pending paddy stock and start procurement for the second crop.

The Assistant Principal Agriculture Officer, M. Vanajadelakshan, told The Hindu that at least a Rs.6-crore subsidy is needed. But the Government's allotment to the district this year as subsidy is only Rs.1.2 crores.

He said the district had a production of 1.8 lakh tonnes of paddy from 60,000 hectares in the first crop. The production from second crop comes to over 1.5 lakh tonnes.

The Deputy Director of Agriculture (Marketing), A. Rema, said the Agriculture Department had proposed that the State Government urge agencies such as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation to directly purchase paddy from farmers for distribution under various government schemes such as mid-day meal, Anganwadi, Anthodaya, food-for-work, etc.

Meanwhile, the farmers have urged the Government to fix the support price instead of the procurement price. If support price is fixed the Government is bound to procure paddy. In the case of procurement price, the Government has no responsibility to purchase it, the president of the Deseeya Karshaka Samajam, Polpully Vasudevan, said.

He said the Government had put farmers to hardship by reducing the procurement price. The farmers should get a remunerative price of at least Rs.10 a kg. for matta rice and Rs.9 for white rice, he said.

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