BHAWANIPATNA: Farmers of Kalahandi are upset with the tardy pace of kharif paddy procurement. First, the adverse weather conditions affected the process and now, the delayed tokens are issued to farmers who have to wait till January and February end to sell their produce. Despite a procurement target of 50,41176 quintal for the district, only 6,44275 quintal have been purchased from 13,635 farmers out of 1,12,282 registered farmers.
Specific daily procurement targets and token dates have been assigned, but farmers’ resentment is growing as a majority of tokens issued are for late January and even late February. Adding to the frustration is the absence of adequate godowns forcing farmers to stack their harvested stocks in open threshing grounds. This has become inconvenient and costly for farmers like Prasanta Naik from Kusumsilla village, who received tokens for late January and February despite harvesting his paddy in December's first week.
Managing committee member of Medinipur PACS Manoranjan Raiguru, said around 50 per cent of registered farmers for paddy sale through the society have received tokens for late January and February. The lack of personal godowns and the need for early sales to recover investments pose significant challenges for farmers, he added. Civil supplies officer Pradipta Sahu acknowledged the issue and assured that the government is actively considering adjusting token dates to streamline procurement.