CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government should run the direct procurement centres (DPCs) to procure paddy in order to protect the livelihood of farmers, said Dr S Ramadoss, PMK founder.
In a statement released here on Sunday, Dr Ramadoss said media had reported that the DPCs were closed from September 1, following an order from the Centre. If the report is true, the action is condemnable. A total of 112 DPCs in Nagapattinam district have been closed from September 1 and hence, farmers’ associations have announced to stage a protest on September 3. “Under these circumstances, it is wrong that the Tamil Nadu government is keeping silent on this issue,” he observed.
“The Union government has fixed a target to double the income of farmers by 2022 and to achieve the goal, it has fixed a procurement price 50 per cent more than the production cost. But, the farmers are not satisfied over the new price which they say is not sufficient and therefore, the Union government has ordered closure of procurement centres, sparking shock waves among farmers,” Dr. Ramadoss said.
In the wake of the closure of DPCs, farmers would be forced to sell their produce to private traders who would use the opportunity to fleece them, the PMK leader said, adding that the state government itself should run the DPCs and provide the procured agricultural produce to PDS shops to protect the farmers and the common public as well.