Odisha MLAs seek better deal for seed growers
BHUBANESWAR: Even as the state government has been demanding the Centre to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal, the price paid to farmers for certified seeds supplied to Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) is not remunerative.
Responding to a question from BJD MLA Prafulla Samal, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Arun Sahoo said the cost of certified paddy seeds is fixed by State Seed Pricing Committee by taking into consideration MSP fixed by the Centre and cost of paddy seeds in the open market.
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While the cost of production of common variety of paddy has been estimated at Rs 2,403 a quintal for 2018-19, the State-run Corporation is paying Rs 2,188 per quintal for certified seed. The additional operational cost involved for production of certified seeds will be more than Rs 500 per quintal.
Farmers who had supplied paddy seeds to OSSC have sustained a loss of Rs 215 per quintal taking the average cost of production at Rs 2,403 per quintal for common variety of paddy and the loss is more than Rs 700 per quintal if the seed production cost will be fixed at Rs 2,900 per quintal, sources familiar with the subject said.
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The seed-growing farmers have been demanding before the state government to pay them a remunerative price as the cost of production is much higher than the common variety of paddy.
The farmers of the state sustained a loss of Rs 588 per quintal during 2018-19 kharif marketing season as per the estimate of the state government. The MSP fixed by the Centre for Kharif 2018 was Rs 1,815 per quintal.
The Centre fixed the MSP taking the average weighted production cost at national level at Rs 1,560 per quintal. However, the projected cost of production for Odisha as decided by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for 2018-19 was Rs 1,713 per quintal.
“The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare fixes the rate per quintal production of paddy in different states. The commission’s projected cost of production of paddy for Kharif crops during the 2018-19 marketing season in Odisha was Rs 1,713 per quintal,” Sahoo said.
The cost of production per quintal of paddy in Maharashtra is, however, highest at Rs 2,418, he said.
The Minister said the state government has been taking several measures to reduce the cost of production of paddy by supplying better quality seeds at subsidised price, soil health test, technical assistance to grow more grain in limited area and others.