BERHAMPUR: Encouraged by Government incentives and conducive weather, a large number of farmers had taken up maize cultivation in Gajapati district. However, owing to absence of procurement centres, the farmers of R Udayagiri, Mohana and Nugada blocks have resorted to distress sale of their produce.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stones of three procurement centres in R Udayagiri in November 2016, but work on none has been completed yet.
The farmers are now left at the mercy of traders and middlemen. “Even as the Central and State governments claim to have implemented various welfare schemes for farmers, the ground reality speaks volumes of their plight,” said Simanchal Choudhury, a farmer of R Udayagiri. He said since the weather of the region is favourable for maize cultivation, farmers depend on the crop for their livelihood.
Maize is grown abundantly in the district and is used in the manufacturing of oil, starch, liquid glucose, corn flakes and popcorn.
Simanchal said in the absence of procurement and marketing facilities, farmers are left with no option but to sell their produce to middlemen and traders from Andhra Pradesh at throwaway prices.
The Minimum Support Price (MSP) of maize, fixed by the Government is Rs 2,200 per quintal. But the farmers, keen to dispose of their produce to repay loans, sell it for Rs 1,400-1,500 per quintal.
Meanwhile, Regulated Market Committee sources said since the construction of procurement centres in the district has been delayed, middlemen have been asked to procure maize from farmers at the price fixed by the Government.
