Bargarh farmers in a soup: Delay in paddy procurement

Bargarh: With acres of farmlands and crops being washed away by the unseasonal rain, farmers, who already have incurred huge loans, have been affected the most.The farmers in this district have suffered the most in the aftermath of extreme severe cyclone ‘Fani’. A case in point is the plight of farmers here, the rice bowl of Odisha.

The standing crops have been washed away causing huge losses to farmers. Worse, they now don’t have the financial resources to repair their houses that have been damaged by Fani. They can make some money if they are able to sell the crop they have stored. But they are not being able to do so due to the delay in Rabi paddy procurement by the district administration.The administration however, attributes the delay because of non-availability of power and internet. Farmers have to register themselves online before they are allowed to sell their produce. However, they are not being able to do so. They will have to wait some more time till the net connection resumes for selling their product.

Till that happens, they are being forced to cover their houses with polythene sheets and take shelter there.When contacted, district supply officer Srikar Majhi said: “We are trying to start paddy procurement process in the district by May 10. Like previous years, we have decided to buy 26 quintal paddy from each acre of farmland.”Usually, the Rabi crop is harvested in the second week of April and paddy procurement process starts by May first week. In 2016-2017, the process had started May 1 and in 2017-2018, May 5.Earlier, a meeting was held under the guidance of the District Collector where it was decided to begin the procurement process by May 8. However, with ‘Fani’ hitting the district badly, the officials are busy preparing reports of losses suffered by the people.In such a scenario, middlemen and paddy traders are taking advantage. They are trying to lure farmers into selling the paddy at a lesser price. Without any cash in hand, some farmers have fallen into this trap. While the government has set the buying price at Rs 1,750/quintal, the middlemen are offering rates, much below the designated one.When contacted, Attabira RMC coordinator Biswajit Barik said: “Due to ‘Fani’, we could not open the mandis on time. But, we will store the paddy of farmers in the mandis until the procurement process begins. Instead of leaving the paddy in open in their farmlands, they can bring it to the mandis and deposit their produce.”