No taker for paddy in Chhattisgarh, farmers left in lurch

Traders and the state government are in a confrontation mode in Chhattisgarh following farmer's reluctance to procure paddy at the minimum support price (MSP) in the current kharif marketing season.

The farmers' looking at traders for selling their produce was necessitated following Chhattisgarh government putting a cap on the quantity it would procure at MSP in this season. The state government had announced to purchase only 10 quintal per acre this year that had put farmers in a fix to dispose the remaining yield as average paddy productivity in Chhattisgarh had been 18 to 20 quintal per acre.

The paddy procurement in the state-run societies would start from December 1. However, in Krishi Upaz Mandi (state-run agriculture produce market), the paddy arrival had started.

The state government had issued circular stating that the farmers selling paddy in the Krishi Upaz Mandi should be paid the MSP by the traders. The price in the Mandi would be determined by the quality of the paddy, the government circular said. In Mandi, the traders procure paddy in auction quoting the rate they find reasonable.

As the traders are quoting low rates, farmers are not selling paddy in the Mandi. Reports reaching here said that a paddy stock of more than 50,000 quintal had piled up in different Mandis across the state.

The traders had been quoting rate between Rs 975 to 1300 for a quintal while the MSP fixed for the season had been Rs 1360 for common grade and Rs 1400 for grade one.

"Why would the traders purchase paddy at the higher rate," asked farmers' leader Virendra Pandey. The traders meant business and they would quote the lowest price to purchase paddy, he said, adding that the state government would fail to force the traders to procure paddy at the MSP.

Pandey explained the state government could only formulate norms to force traders to purchase paddy at MSP but it would be the privilege of the traders whether to purchase of not. And this was happening in the Mandis; the traders are not purchasing paddy that had left the farmers in lurch, he added.