KAKINADA: Farmers of Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema and Kakinada districts are a worried lot as over two lakh metric tonnes of paddy is likely to get damaged due to the rains induced by Cyclone Mandous for the past two days.Agriculture department officials explained that paddy was harvested and stacked in the fields as it was to be shifted to Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs).
Officials observed that if the rains continue for another day or two, the yield will remain under water and germinate, resulting in huge losses to the farmers. Meanwhile, farmers blamed the delay in shifting of paddy to the RBKs for their plight.Civil Supplies Corporation manager (Konaseema) K Tulasi said approximately one lakh metric tonnes paddy yield was stacked in the fields.
“While the agriculture department had estimated that 3.20 lakh MT paddy might be yielded, 1.60 lakh MT has been procured through 330 Rythu Bharosa Kendrams. Of the total expected yield, 2.60 lakh MT is likely to be procured through RBKs and shifted to 161 CMR Rice mills for processing,” she added.
Similarly in Kakinada district, paddy yield was estimated to be 2.41 lakh MT and currently, 1.21 lakh MT has been procured through 223 of the 263 RBKs. The rest of 1.20 lakh MT is yet to be procured, Civil Supplies Corporation manager (Kakinada) Pushpa Mani pointed out.On the delay in procuring the paddy, she explained that the servers at RBKs were not working properly during the initial stages of procurement due to technical reasons.
Kakinada district agriculture officer N Vijay Kumar said all the mandal level agriculture offices have inspected the situation. “Farmers had spread tarpaulin sheets over the yield in a bid to protect it, yet the paddy is under a sheet of water,” he said and added that the yield would dry off, if the rains stop and if there is enough sunshine.
“Due to lack of crop cultivation rights (CCR) cards, the paddy yield, harvested on November 21 in six acres, had to be stored on the road. I might incur losses on at least some of the bags as it has been raining for the past two days, Suryanarayana Marneddi, a tenant farmer of Kovvuru village in Kakinada rural, rued.
Kakinada district Kowlu Rythu Sangham secretary Rajasekhar said the government is unable to provide justice to farmers and tenant farmers, forcing the community to depend on middlemen for all stages from seeding to procurement. “With computers at RBKs not working properly, farmers are selling their produce to mediators,” he alleged.