No millers, paddy procurement comes to a halt in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur
JAGATSINGHPUR: Farmers of Jagatsinghpur have urged the district administration and the State Government to rope in millers from other districts, Bargarh in particular, to procure paddy from them.
Paddy procurement in the district was supposed to begin from December 7 and 105 paddy procurement centres were to be opened. However, as no millers have come forward to lift paddy, not a single procurement centre has been opened till now. This crop season, the Civil Supplies department has fixed the paddy procurement target at 74,41,176 tonne but only one miller has come forward to lift and mill the stock. The department aims at producing 50,600 tonne rice from the procured paddy. As many as 33,443 farmers have registered their names in the paddy procurement automation system to sell paddy in kharif marketing season.
Last year, 31 millers, including 29 from Bargarh district, were engaged to lift paddy. This year, farmers are resorting to distress sale as no millers from other districts have been engaged by the administration to lift paddy so far. They are selling a quintal of paddy at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 instead of the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,750 fixed by the State Government.
Farmers, led by their leaders Bichitrananda Swain, Rabindra Rout and Kelu Sahoo on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Civil Supplies department and the Jagatsinghpur Collector urging them to engage millers from other districts like last year to procure their paddy. Similarly, board members of many procurement centres of Biridi block have also written to the State Government in this regard.
As per the procurement policy of the State Government, there is a provision to appoint millers from other areas if adequate number of millers are not available in a district. Prior to the procurement, the Civil Supplies department had asked all Collectors, except those of Jagatsinghpur and Kandhamal, to furnish reports on surplus number of millers in any district.
Contacted, District Civil Supplies Officer Dilip Kumar Patra said this year no millers from other districts expressed interest in lifting paddy from Jagatsinghpur.There are not enough millers in Jagatsinghpur district to custom mill paddy and produce rice. Although the department has sought the intervention of the State Government for selection of millers for the district, nothing has been done so far. Farmers are resorting to distress sale due to non-availability of millers.