SANGAREDDY: Paddy farmers in the erstwhile Medak district are encountering numerous challenges in selling their crops.
From obtaining gunny bags to weighing the rice, farmers are forced to navigate through bureaucratic hurdles. Additionally, they are expressing concerns about being exploited at every stage of the process. To acquire gunny bags, farmers are required to make advance payments, and during weighing, three to five kg of grains are consistently deducted each day.
Moreover, farmers are frustrated by the delay, ranging from a week to 20 days, in purchasing their paddy at the procurement centres. The farmers also face difficulties in promptly sending their paddy to rice mills after weighing.
As a result of the sluggish procurement process in the erstwhile Medak district, many farmers have stored their grains at home, on farms and alongside main roads. From Narsapur to Medak town, the roads across the region are scattered with piles of paddy. Farmers had hoped to dry the grain thoroughly and achieve A-grade rates after the rain subsided, but their efforts have yielded no results. In certain areas, farmers have resorted to road protests, demanding that the officials purchase their paddy.
A farmer, Srinivas, highlighted the main issue as the lack of vehicles. He explained that once the bags of paddy are transported from the purchasing centres to the mills, the vehicles take up to five days to arrive due to rice mill owners failing to promptly unload the paddy bags.
‘Sluggish pace’
Analysing the details of paddy purchases made by officials in the erstwhile Medak district reveals a sluggish procurement process. Despite Siddipet district’s potential to procure 4 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy, civil supply officials reported only 1 lakh MT being purchased thus far.
Similarly, officials in the Medak district advised farmers to sell their paddy in the Sangareddy district due to an excess of grain. Sangareddy district administration has agreed to purchase around 10,000 MT of paddy.
Medak District Civil Supply Officer K Srinivas said a total of 1.2 lakh MT of paddy has been purchased in the district, surpassing expectations and causing storage limitations in rice mills.
The estimated paddy production in Sangareddy district is 1.85 MT, but only 30,000 MT has been purchased due to delays in harvesting. Consequently, selling paddy in the erstwhile Medak districts has become increasingly challenging for farmers.