ROURKELA: The Sundargarh administration has failed to meet the target set for kharif paddy procurement which came to an end on Sunday.
Paddy purchase for 2023-24 kharif marketing season ended in the tribal-dominated district with total procurement of 19,43,534 quintal against the target of around 20.87 lakh quintal. Sources said farmers did not turn up at mandis despite the readiness of the district administration to purchase the remaining 1.87 lakh quintal till the last date.
While those associated with the procurement process claimed that majority of the farmers preferred to sell their crops directly to private parties, it is also apprehended that paddy production might have dropped in 2023 kharif season for varied reasons. However, there is no clear evidence to suggest the actual reason for the low procurement this season amid bumper harvest claim of the agriculture authorities.
Deputy registrar of cooperative societies (DRCS), Sundargarh US Das said paddy procurement centres (PPCs) with active sale tokens waited till the last date, but the arrival of harvested crops continued to be sluggish after February. Feedback was sought from the PCCs which claimed that majority of the registered farmers preferred to sell their paddy crops to private parties at their doorsteps with relatively better price offer.
It is learnt that till February 29, the district administration procured 19,24,895 quintal through 135 PPCs. However, in the next one month till the end of procurement, only 18,693 quintal of paddy could be purchased.
Sources in the civil supplies office informed that at least 53,798 farmers had registered to sell their crops at the minimum support price of `2,183 per quintal of fair average quality (FAQ) paddy. However, only 44,560 farmers sold their paddy at the PPCs.
Those in the know of facts said paddy procurement has decreased in Sundargarh over the last couple of years. In 2021-22, the administration procured around 22.48 lakh quintal paddy which reduced to about 22.30 lakh quintal in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the procurement target was set at an all-time low of 20.87 lakh quintal. Yet, there was a shortfall 1.87 lakh quintal paddy.
Incidentally, the total paddy crop area in 2023 kharif season was reduced to around 1.96 lakh hectare from the usual cultivation area of 2.04 lakh hectare.