BERHAMPUR: With only a few days left for the online registration under Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS) to end, farmers in Ganjam district have demanded a further extension of the deadline.
While the deadline is September 15, a total of 1,13,100 farmers in the district have registered under P-PAS for purchase of surplus paddy during 2019-20 Kharif marketing season till 10th this month. A lot of farmers are yet to register their names and hence, the deadline should be extended, said farmers.
Though registration of farmers under P-PAS started from August 16, the process is progressing at a slow pace. The last date for registration of farmers was August 31 and the Government extended the deadline till September 10 and subsequently, to 15th this month.
The farmers argued that they were busy in Kharif cultivation and could hardly spare any time for registration. The same thing had happened last year and only 1,28,700 farmers were able to register their names till March 2018.
Since the purchase of paddy generally starts from the first week of December, the September 15 deadline for P-PAS registration is not justified, the farmers argued.
As many as 391 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) are functioning as ‘One Stop Shop’ in Ganjam to meet the requirements of farmers and purchase paddy on behalf of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation under decentralised paddy procurement.
The Registrar of Cooperative Society had earlier asked Divisional Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Secretaries of District Central Cooperative Banks to complete digitisation of registration forms of farmers.