CHENNAI/TIRUCHY: Days after several farmers’ associations protested across the delta region urging the government to procure paddy with higher moisture content, the State government on Tuesday wrote to the Union government seeking relaxation of the moisture norm from 17% to 22%. The State also assured that paddy procured under the relaxed moisture norm will be hulled immediately and the rice will conform to the Centre’s specifications.
Protests erupted after direct procurement centres, citing the Centre’s norms, refused to procure paddy with 19-22% moisture content. Farmers’ associations said kuruvai paddy cultivated on four lakh hectares may get damaged or the grain may sprout if there is no relaxation in moisture content. Any delay in procurement may put several lakhs of farmers in irrevocable debt, they said.
J Radhakrishnan, Secretary, Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department, in his letter dated October 10 to Union Secretary for Food and Public Distribution said kuruvai paddy is expected to have higher moisture content due to the northeast monsoon and high humidity.
Referring to the Centre’s letter dated November 2021, Radhakrishnan said the Union government has allowed the State to procure paddy with moisture content of up to 19% (as against 17% uniform specifications) subject to conditions that damaged, discoloured, sprouted, weeviled grains do not exceed 4% and immature, shrunken and shrivelled grains of up to 4% (as against 3%) in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, Tiruchy, Cuddalore, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts.
The letter pointed out that in January 2020, the Centre permitted procurement of paddy with moisture content of 20% and damaged and discoloured grains up to 7% against the limit of 5% under uniform specifications. Stating that farmers depend on the State to sell their paddy, Radhakrishnan requested the Centre to allow procurement of paddy with moisture content of up to 22% and relax the cap on immature, shrunken and shrivelled up to 5% (as against 3%) and damaged and discoloured grains by up to 7% (as against 5%) with necessary value cut this year also.
When asked about the issue recurring every year, Radhakrishnan said, “We cannot ask FCI to relax norms during a drought year. Likewise, procurement cannot be done for the sake of it. In practice, the rice variety procured in Thanjavur becomes unpopular in the same place as they prefer other varieties.” A State agriculture department official said, “TN’s climate condition is unique as State gets monsoon rain at the time of harvest.”
TN Farmers’ Federation chief PR Pandian said the State government’s move was an eyewash as it would take at least a month for the Centre to respond to the State’s letter and kuruvai procurement would be over by then.
