Long wait adds to farmers’ woes

SANGAREDDY: Farmers in erstwhile Medak district are going through an agonising ordeal with the delay in procurement of paddy. In some places, even procurement centres have not been opened, adding to their woes. They are being constrained to stay at the procurement centres for at least 10 days for selling their paddy. Many farmers grew paddy in Rabi season despite a government’s advisory discouraging it, citing water reservation. was available for them. Another reason for going in for paddy was that growing paddy was not very difficult as long as there is an assured irrigation facility.

As there was uncertainty in the beginning over whether the government would procure Rabi paddy in the wake of the Centre not making any bones about its inability in procuring it, some farmers who raised paddy in Rabi had sold it in the open market at a price less than the MSP. However, farmers who had sown paddy late and whose crop is coming to the harvesting stage now are lucky since the state government, in the meantime had taken a decision to procure every grain of Rabi paddy at MSP. But their joy proved to be short-lived as they had to go through the torment of waiting at the purchase centres leaving their families at home.

The rains which came as a bolt from the blue had added to their misery. G Sailu, a farmer from Maddur village in Siddipet district said: “My paddy at the purchase centre has been totally damaged by the recent rains. I brought the paddy about 10 days ago. Had the procurement done as soon as I had brought the paddy, I would not have suffered the loss.” 

Some farmers urge the State government to take responsibility for the paddy as soon as it arrives at the purchasing centres. Any loss due to damage to the paddy on account of rains or any other factor should be borne by the state government. While this is so, K Chandrasekhar, president of the Rice Millers’ Association, said that most of the rice mills in the erstwhile Medak district do not have enough space to store paddy.