DHARMAPURI: Farmers in Dharmapuri have urged civil supplies department officials to take steps to provide ragi (finger millet) in PDS shops.
To mark International Year of Millets initiative in 2023, a pilot project was announced to procure Ragi from farmers and distribute it to ration card holders. Dharmapuri and Nilgiris district were selected. So far, 4.27 lakh card holders in Dharmapuri have been given 2 kg of ragi each. But in the last four months, ragi distribution has stopped.
Speaking on the issue, R Palanivel from Nallampalli said, “In Dharmapuri, Ragi is cultivated in 11,000 hectares area, so why is there no ragi in ration shops? It is our staple food, and giving it instead of rice was welcomed by many. But for the past three to four months there has been no supply.”
Another farmer R Shanmugam from Harur said, “Most small-scale farmers would cultivate ragi in two or three acres for their personal needs and they do not sell what they reap. It is a concern of food security for them for a year. The other half are unaware of the Direct Procurement Centre (DPC). Farmers need to be aware of the DPC and its benefits. The application for the DPC is tedious, many farmers refrain from going to DPC as the application process is very complicated.”
Speaking to TNIE, regional manager of ragi procurement, Sahul Hamid said, “As per the guidelines we need about 400 tonnes for distribution in the district. For the past three months, there has been less harvest and we are procuring from Erode, Salem, and Krishnagiri. We need to stock up about three times a monthly supply which is about 1,200T to even seek permission for Civil Supplies headquarters to supply in ration shops.
Probably, the distribution in ration shops would start in April or May, as we expect the DPC to get a large procurement by early April.”
Data from the district supply office revealed that in 2023, when the DPC was opened, the dept procured 32.15T from farmers and in 2024, they collected 597.10 T.