KUTTANAD: Rotting paddy, mounting debt and official apathy. It was pure desperation that pushed Sebastian into a self-immolation bid in front of the Kallara Krishi Bhavan in Kottayam on February 25. Fortunately, the timely intervention of a few locals saved the farmer’s life. Over the past 10 days, two farmers of Upper Kuttanad have attempted suicide citing the allegedly deliberate delay by mill owners in procuring their paddy and the apathy of the Civil Supplies Corporation towards their plight.
The government, however, is yet to intervene. According to the farmers, about two lakh tonnes of paddy has been lying in the open fields of Upper Kuttanad, Vechoor, Makopara, Kallara and Neendoor areas for more than one month. The Civil Supplies Corporation has tasked the rice millers to procure the rice on the condition that they will provide 68 per cent rice to the corporation. But the farmers allege the mill owners are deliberately delaying the procurement to bargain and lower the prices.
Thomas, a farmer from Neendoor Makkethara, said the mill owners are demanding a huge wastage discount to the tune of 10 to 20 per cent. “As the acidity of the soil in the Upper Kuttanad region is high, the yield is poor. So, they are trying to exploit us. Around 13,500 quintals of paddy have been lying in the Makkethara Kunnathukandam fields for more than 15 days.
What are we supposed to do,” said an aggrieved Thomas, who was the second farmer to attempt suicide in the Upper Kuttanad region over the past 10 days. He had tried to set himself ablaze on March 1, but was saved by other farmers. Sebastian, who is also the convener of Mundar Paddy Grower’s Forum, said he took the extreme step because his family was struggling due to mounting debts. “I have availed a bank loan of Rs 3 lakh to meet agriculture expenses.
Though it is a six-month interest free loan, the bank will charge 15 per cent interest if we don’t close it within the stipulated period. The paddy was harvested on January 31 and a spell of summer rain could have destroyed the yield,” he said, adding the mill owners and agents were deliberately delaying the procurement to frustrate the farmers.
‘They know we will be desperate to sell yield’
“They know we will be desperate to sell the yield as it may rain any time. They are demanding 16 per cent wastage discount, which is unbearable. In July last year, I had suffered a huge loss because the rains destroyed the first crop,” he said.The government gives Rs 2,140 per quintal as procurement charge to the mills, but they are still demanding huge discounts in the name of wastage, said Sajeev Rajappan of Chengalam.
“As we use machines for harvest, the wastage is low. We gave them a discount of 2.5 per cent last year. We also had to bear other expenses like labour cost and harvester charges,” Sajeev said. The paddy was harvested on February 6 and the agents arrived for procurement on March 4.Babu Simon, of Neendoor Kaipuzhakara paddy fields, said he suffered a huge loss last year because the mill owners refused to procure his yield for questioning the high wastage charge. “We have been pleading with the paddy procurement and agriculture officers to take steps for early procurement. But nobody has responded positively,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Civil Supplies Minister’s Office said the mill owners were not keen on procuring paddy from Upper Kuttanad because the yield is low and wastage is high. “They have been demanding government compensation. After we held talks with them, they have assured to start the procurement process immediately,” said an officer.