JEYPORE: Koraput farmers have been left scratching their heads after the district administration postponed paddy procurement which was scheduled to commence on Thursday. Apart from farmers, millers of Koraput are confused too as paddy procurement centres (mandis) were not opened on the scheduled date. To make matters worse, the administration has yet to announce the new date for paddy procurement.
The district paddy procurement committee headed by Koraput collector Md Abdaal Akhtar had decided to start procurement for the ensuing Kharif season from December 14. Accordingly, the mandis in different areas of the district were supposed to be made operational on the day. It was also decided to engage 20 large area multi-purpose cooperative societies (LAMPS), 15 self-help groups (SHGs) and three Pani panchayats to procure paddy from around 40,000 farmers of 14 blocks at 105 mandis across Koraput district.
Sources said unaware of the district administration’s changed plans, farmers of tribal pockets such as Kundra, Borigumma and Kotpad dumped their paddy stocks at the yards of Regulated Market Committees (RMCs), expecting operation of the mandis on Thursday. Bhadra Nayak, a farmer of Kundra block, said, “We have already kept our harvested paddy at the mandis. But we are not sure when the paddy purchase will start.”Administrative sources said the district civil supplies officials are yet to sign the necessary papers with the millers for the procurement process due to which the mandis could not open.
While civil supplies officer (CSO) of Koraput PK Panda did not respond to repeated calls, deputy registrar of cooperative societies (DRCS), Jeypore Bhimsen Sahoo said the primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) were ready for paddy procurement. However, the mandis could not be made operational as the LAccMI scheme was rolled out in the district on the day. The new date of paddy procurement will be declared by the district civil supplies officials soon, Sahoo added.