BHUBANESWAR: Short supply of gunny bags has hit rabi paddy procurement forcing farmers to buy bags from the market to sell their surplus paddy under price support system.
The Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), the nodal agency for paddy procurement under the decentralised procurement system, has been allowed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to use handed-down gunny sacks during procurement.
“We will write to the Ministry for permission to use plastic bags for paddy procurement which will end by June 30,” sources in Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department said.
The State Government had indented 1.65 lakh bales (500 sacks in one bale) of jute bags to the Jute Commission of India up to April and had deposited full cost.
The Central agency had supplied 1.10 lakh bales of which only 5 per cent were delivered during Covid lockdown. Most of these bags were used in paddy procurement during 2019 kharif marketing season, ending March 2020.
“We are facing problems in paddy procurement and delivery of rice under PDS,” sources said. Around 70 pc of the State’s requirement of jute gunny bags is sourced from West Bengal. Since the jute mills were running with reduced labour (10 pc of total work force) as per lockdown guidelines, they could not produce sufficient bags.
As a part of West Bengal is battered by cyclone Amphan, all the jute mills are closed due to lack of electricity and labour.
It will take another week to return to normalcy and start production, sources maintained. “OSCSC had supplied gunny bags during kharif paddy procurement. Now, we are buying it from market as there is short supply of bags to rice purchase centres managed by Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS),” said Basant Barik, a farmer of Balasore district.
The State-run Corporation is planning to allow farmers to supply and PACS to use plastic bags for packing of paddy during procurement. The issue of gunny bag short supply by Jute Commission was raised by Food Supplies Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain during a recent video conference with Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Paswan said his Ministry has relaxed guidelines for packaging of foodgrains in used gunny bags during the current procurement season.
Sackful of troubles
State had indented 1.65 lakh bales of jute bags to Jute Commission of India up to April
The Commission had supplied 1.10 lakh bales
5 pc were delivered during Covid lockdown
Most of the bags were used in kharif marketing season, ending March 2020
70 pc of State’s requirement of jute gunny bags is sourced from West Bengal
Less work force in jute mills as per lockdown guidelines led to shortage in production