Paddy procurement for the Kharif season has reached its last leg in Odisha. Yet, widespread farmer resentment and poor oversight by multiple agencies cast a shadow over the process, so much so that the increased support price for paddy growers has failed to calm nerves. For the Kharif season 2024-25, the state initially set a procurement target of 65 lakh metric tonnes and upwardly revised it to 77 lakh metric tonnes. Unseasonal rains posed a threat to the harvests and delayed the commencement of the purchase, but as per the government’s admission, 90 percent of the target has been met with three more weeks to go before the purchase winds up. Despite making rapid progress, the commotion over the process has continued to rage, with farmers voicing grievance over a 5-kg deduction per quintal of paddy—locally called ‘katni-chhatni’—at the level of primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS), which are a major stakeholder in the procurement chain. The unofficial deduction is based on the paddy’s quality, categorised as Grade A or fair average quality.
Much of the problem persisted under the previous BJD regime amid widespread allegations of big money changing hands in the procurement business thanks to the deduction. The farmers’ woes became a major poll plank for the BJP, which came to power in Odisha last year. Its government announced an input subsidy of ₹800 over and above the MSP of ₹2,300 per quintal and promised an efficient procurement system. It also deployed grain analysers to improve the quality-testing mechanism and remove any confusion at the farmers’, PACS’ and millers’ ends. It mobilised over 3,800 nodal officers and 200-plus enforcement personnel, as well as CCTV supervision, at the mandis. Much of it may have helped the paddy off-take because farmers, despite grievances galore, cannot afford to hold back their stock, which would mean damaging the produce and loss of livelihood. All this hints at a deep-rooted systemic malaise. Farmers point accusatory fingers at a nexus of millers and government officials. Poor institutional arrangements with rice millers, inadequate infrastructure at the mandis and the absence of fear of punitive action have not helped. It would require a fresh review of the entire value chain. Only through a transparent system can the interests of millions of farmers be protected.