JAGTIAL: Anxious farmers in Jagtial district fear that untimely rains could ruin their harvested maize as procurement drags on amid an acute labour shortage.
With hamali workers from Bihar returning home for the Assembly elections, the process has nearly come to a halt in several villages.
In Mallapur and neighbouring areas, farmers lament that just one procurement centre caters to 23 villages, forcing many to sell their maize below the government’s MSP of Rs 2,400 per quintal. Many had to settle for as low as Rs 1,800 to avoid further losses.
Paddy farmers, too, face distress as continuous rains have waterlogged fields, stalling harvest machinery and leaving crops flattened.
Officials said 437 paddy and 15 maize procurement centres have been set up across the district, and alternative labourers are being arranged to resume procurement by November 8.