Agri Dept to study charges for crop harvesting machines

The agriculture department is likely to study the charges collected by suppliers of machinery for harvesting paddy in the Mysuru district.

This follows complaints that owners of these machines were collecting higher rates from farmers. The complaints were raised by the affected farmers at a meeting presided over by Deputy Commissioner C Shikha which was attended by sub-divisional officers, tahsildars of all taluks and officials of the Agriculture, Transport and Police departments, and representatives of farmers’ organisations recently.

The farmers’ representatives complained that owners of crop harvesting machines were collecting higher rates from farmers. After coming to know of the charges being collected by the machinery suppliers, she asked the officials of the Agriculture Department to submit a report to her after scientifically study the rates for such machines.

The rates would be fixed scientifically after discussions with the machinery owners and officials of different departments once the report was received, Shikha said at the meeting.

Meanwhile, she asked the owners of machinery to collect charges from farmers as in the earlier years and cautioned that if they insisted on unscientific rates, action would be taken against them.