THANJAVUR: While paddy procurement during the ongoing kuruvai season in Thanjavur has slightly surpassed last year’s figures, concerns remain over achieving the procurement target by the end of the season. Many farmers are opting for private traders instead of Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) due to reasons such as transportation costs.
This year, kuruvai paddy was cultivated across 61,800 hectares in the district, and harvesting has been completed on 49,234 hectares, which accounts for 80% of the total cultivated area. As of October 15, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) has procured 69,171 tonnes of paddy.
This is 1,164 tonnes more than the same period last year. However, officials are uncertain whether they will meet the expected procurement target of 1.5 lakh tonnes by the end of the kuruvai season, which began on September 1. The TNCSC is offering Rs 2,450 per quintal for fine variety paddy and Rs 2,405 per quintal for the common variety.
Despite this, many farmers are selling to private traders who offer Rs 50 less per 60 kg bag and purchase directly from the fields, eliminating the need for farmers to bear transport costs, a TNCSC official told TNIE. "Though the difference in price is small, farmers prefer private traders because they avoid transport hassles," he added.
R Sukumaran, a farmer from Orathanadu, confirmed the trend. "Most farmers in our area have sold their paddy to private traders. However, the recent rains have disrupted harvesting and traders are staying away," he said. He also pointed out that the rains have caused the moisture content in paddy to exceed the 17% limit set by DPCs. "The moisture content should be relaxed to at least 20%, so farmers can sell to DPCs," he added.