Farmers prefer to sell paddy at drying yards

Kothagudem: Farmers prefer to sell paddy at the drying yards instead of bringing paddy to the purchase centres set up by the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies and Girijan Cooperative Corporation.

In Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, 101 procurement centres have been opened in mandals where paddy cultivation is intensive. The farmers did not even glance at 82 such centres. They prefer selling paddy to middlemen at the drying yard as the MSP is not encouraging and not getting the expected pay off from the government.

Officials targeted to procure 1.50 lakh tons of paddy through 101 centres. The procurement of paddy at these centres is intermittent with only 11,000 tons received so far. Farmers, who took advances from traders and pesticide sellers, are preferring to sell their produce at the drying yard and clear the debts.

This is the case with a majority of farmers in Charla, Aswapuram, Burgampahad, Dummugudem, Manuguru, Paloncha, Tekulapalli and other mandals are selling their produce to the middlemen. The MSP for a quintal of paddy with a moisture content of 17 per cent has been fixed at Rs 1,590, while the MSP for the paddy ordinary variety has been put at Rs 1,550 a quintal.

The farmers are selling the paddy to middlemen as they are paying slightly higher price. As the officials have failed to restraint the middlemen, the paddy procurement centres are functioning just for the name sake, it is alleged.

District Civil Supplies Officer Amrut Reddy said that all arrangements had been made to lift paddy from the farmers at the 101 procurement centres. So far, procurement has commenced at 82 centres and exuded confidence that the operations will begin in other centres as well.

He urged the farmers not to get duped by the middlemen and advised them to sell paddy at the procurement centres at the MSP fixed by the government.