With a bumper harvest in rabi crops and the administration's targeted procurement quota having been met, farmers in Odisha's Koraput district are faced with the prospect of distress sale of their surplus crops.
The government had fixed the procurement target at 3,73,000 quintal in the first phase and in the second phase an additional 3,36,000 quintals of paddy were procured. The administration had opened as many as 17 mandis (paddy procurement centres) across the district since June 2 to procure the targeted paddy and closed the mandis on June 16 as it met the target, district officials said today.
Koraput district Collector, Yamini Sarangi said, "Keeping an eye on the bumper crop in the district, the original target was once hiked and now there is no plan to again increase the target."
"As the government has stopped procuring paddy, the farmers are forced to sell their produce to middlemen and traders from outside the state at a price lower than the minimum support price of Rs 1,310 a quintal for fair average quality paddy," claimed Narendra Kumar Pradhan, Secretary of Zilla Krushaka Kalyana Mancha, a farmer's outfit.
According to agricultural department officials, the district witnessed a bumper crop this rabi season with around 90,000 farmers producing around 12 lakh quintal of paddy.
"Quintals of paddy are still lying at various mandis and at villages. Cashing in on the situation, the traders are exploiting the farmers as the latter have no option other than selling the produce at a lower price. Such situation will demoralize the farmers and they may hesitate in taking up farming in future. The government should take immediate steps to curb distress sale and protect farmers from being exploited by middlemen," Pradhan said.
Civil Supplies Officer of Koraput, Pitambar Acharya said, "As there is no restriction on sale and transportation of paddy, farmers are free to bargain with traders to sell their produce as per their wish".
