TIRUCHY: Though kuruvai harvest started weeks ago, only a few farmers in the district have opted to move the produce to direct procurement centres (DPCs). As a result, only two of the 10 DPCs in the district are active.
Farmers prefer private players as they offer a better price. Thus far, about 400 hectares of kuruvai crop have been harvested with just 86 tonnes sold to DPCs.
A total of 3,474 hectares in Lalgudi and parts of Manachanallur have been covered under kuruvai paddy cultivation this season.
Apart from the two DPCs in Lalgudi which procured paddy, the rest remain idle as farmers are waiting for paddy price revision announcement from the Union government.
DPCs are currently procuring paddy at `1,850 per quintal. A senior official in the Agriculture department said, “Though most of the crops are ready for harvest, farmers are yet to begin. As both private parties and DPCs are offering prices of around `1,800 a quintal, farmers are hesitating to sell their crops as there was an announcement of the government planning to increase the paddy procurement price. Farmers are hoping for a better price once a revision is announced.”
He added that with the price revision expected in the first week of October, the rest of the farmers should begin to harvest their crops within the next two weeks. A Periyaiah, a farmer in Lalgudi, said though some farmers are waiting for moisture in their fields to dry to start the harvest, the rest are waiting for the implementation of the revised paddy procurement rate.