The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has been able to procure only around 3,000 tonnes of paddy so far
The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has been able to procure only around 3,000 tonnes of paddy so far
Protests are brewing across Kuttanad over delay in the procurement of paddy cultivated in the additional (second) crop season.
The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has been able to procure only around 3,000 tonnes of paddy so far from farmers in the district in the current season. According to Supplyco officials, 1,300 tonnes of harvested paddy are lying in polders awaiting procurement at different places. Farmers have put the quantity of paddy awaiting procurement much higher.
The delay in procurement was caused after mills decided not to purchase paddy in protest against the government’s apathy towards various issues raised by them. Only two rice millers are taking part in the procurement process in Alappuzha. In the 2021 additional crop season, as many as 30 mills participated in the process in the district.
“The harvest has been completed in around 1,500 hectares. We have so far procured paddy from 950 hectares. The process is making slow progress due to lack of cooperation by mills. Only one of the two mills participating in the procurement process is actively involved. It has the capacity to process 30 tonnes of paddy daily. After a slow start, the harvest has now entered the rapid phase. The procurement will go awry if mills continue to boycott the process,” said a Supplyco official.
Despite the threat of rain, farmers have been forced to keep the harvested paddy in polders or in the open due to a lack of proper storage facilities. Several farmers, meanwhile, have delayed the harvest. Farmers complained that mills have already started demanding wastage (additional paddy), in some cases up to 15 kg per quintal, citing high moisture content in the rain-soaked paddy.
On Monday, protests were held across the region under the aegis of farmers and various organisations demanding government intervention to end the impasse. Aikya Kuttanad Nellu Ulpadhaka Samrakshana Samithi will organise a protest march to the Alappuzha Collectorate on Tuesday morning.
Farmers have undertaken paddy farming in around 9,700 hectares in the additional crop season in the district, a major portion of which is in Kuttanad. The Supplyco, through mills, is expected to procure more than 40,000 tonnes of paddy from the district in the additional crop season from Alappuzha.
