Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin urges PM Narendra Modi to start paddy procurement from September 1

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance paddy procurement in this kharif marketing season by a month and commence it from September 1 instead of October 1 to safeguard farmers’ interests.
In the letter, dated June 21, the CM said for the first time since Independence, the Mettur reservoir has been opened for kuruvai paddy cultivation on May 24 itself, ahead of the conventional date of June 12. “Due to the judicious use of irrigation water during the last paddy season, and due to beneficial rains, the storage position of Mettur reservoir is quite comfortable this year,” Stalin said.

In anticipation, the state government had issued orders on April 8 for taking up desilting work of the main canals and sub-canals for a length of nearly 5000km in the Cauvery delta districts at an outlay of 80 crore and sanctioned an agri input package worth 61 crore to farmers of the region.
Quality seeds of high yielding paddy varieties and fertilizers have been mobilised in all the needy places and farmers have been advised to complete the transplantation of kuruvai paddy before the end of June. “At this juncture, I wish to thank you for having announced the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all kharif crops well before the commencement of sowing,” he said.
Normally, the paddy harvesting season in late September or early October would coincide with both southwest monsoon and northeast monsoon, leading to yield loss or massive crop damage due to inundation during cyclones. But, this year, due to these proactive steps taken by the state government, farmers are confident of harvesting their kuruvai paddy from the last week of August, he said.
“Hence, I request that suitable instructions may kindly be issued to the department of agriculture and farmers welfare to advance the procurement of paddy by one month, from September 1 instead of October 1, to safeguard the interest of farmers of Tamil Nadu,” said Stalin.