BHUBANESWAR: With only a fortnight left for procurement of kharif paddy under the minimum support price (MSP) system, farmers of coastal districts are endlessly waiting for their turns to dispose of their marketable surplus.
Primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS), the authorised agencies for procurement of paddy from registered farmers, are expressing their inability to purchase the produce from farmers due to storage space constraints.
“With limited storage space, the PACS are helpless. We understand the problem of the farmers as the time is running out. The timeline of the online token has been extended till March 31,” said an officer of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department.
Rice millers attached to PACS are not lifting the stock from paddy purchase centres (PPCs) under similar plea.
However, sources familiar with the problem said rice millers are deliberately creating a crisis situation so that farmers will be forced to sell their paddy at a price lower than MSP to their agents.
Prior to the introduction of online token system, rice millers were purchasing paddy from the doorsteps of farmers through their agents at a negotiated rate that gave them profit margin of Rs 200- Rs 300 per quintal.
Under the new system, the registered farmers have to provide biometric proofs before sell of their paddy. There is no scope for the PACS or the millers to manipulate, the sources said.
Reports coming from districts said farmers have started selling their surplus paddy to private traders mostly agents of the rice millers at a distress price of `1400-`1500 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 1,815 per quintal.
The State-appointed agencies are stated to have procured 51.41 lakh tonne of marketable surplus paddy from over 9.24 lakh farmers so far against its target of 60 lakh tonne. Around 12 lakh farmers have registered under P-PAS for sale of their surplus paddy.
The State Government had fixed a target to procure 60 lakh tonne of paddy during 2019-20 kharif marketing season (KMS). While the tentative target for kharif season is 50 lakh tonne, the balance 10 lakh tonne is the target for rabi season.
As per Cabinet decision, there is no bar for procurement of any higher quantum if more paddy comes to mandis from registered farmers.
The Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister has been authorised to revise target if the need so arises. In 2018-19 KMS, paddy to the tune of 65.49 lakh tonne was procured.