Farmers have been optimally using storage facilities provided for free by the district administration to hold on to their produce during the COVID-19 lockdown, said Madurai Market Committee secretary V. Mercy Jeyarani.
The district administration on April 29 announced that farmers who did not get a good price for their produce can use free space available in godowns and transaction sheds in four areas.
While Madurai has a total of 500-tonne space, Usilampatti, Vadipatti and Tirumangalam can together accommodate around 2,000 tonnes. There is also a 25-tonne cold storage facility in Tirumangalam. The godowns in Vadipatti and Mattuthavani predominantly store paddy and the godown in Usilampatti has multi-crop storage. This includes paddy and small millets. The Tirumangalam facility mostly caters to horticulture produce, Ms. Mercy said.
“The cold storage facility in Tirumangalam and the godowns in Mattuthavani have reached almost full capacity. In Usilampatti, farmers are using the drying yards to dry their crops and eventually store them. Almost 90% of the capacity has been reached,” she said.
Dry godowns come to the rescue of farmers during times when prices are low and middlemen get maximum gain, said district president of All India Agricultural Workers Union V. Uma Maheshwaran.
“When the lockdown started, farmers were desperate to sell their produce and people desperate to buy. Commission agents benefited immensely during this time because they had transport and resources to set high prices for the consumer. The district administration’s move towards providing the facility for free came at the right time,” he said.
Ms. Mercy said that though traders who store paddy at the godown have been taking it to rice mills, farmers are still waiting for a good price, as the last year production was good. “If more people are interested, they can contact officers at Madurai 96775 50210, Usilampatti 98946 22582, Tirumangalam 81100 54595 and Vadipatti 96008 02823 to avail the facility,” she said.