Oilfed procurement fails to benefit farmers

By Our Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR, DEC. 13. The market intervention by the Oilfed to stabilise the price of groundnut and enable the ryots get at least the minimum support price of Rs. 1,220 per quintal has failed to benefit the farmers so far. The Oilfed has neither procured any considerable quantity of groundnut from the farmers, nor helped stabilise the price. Traders all over the district continue to purchase it at an average of less than Rs. 1,150 per quintal.

The fact that the Oilfed could procure only about 100 tonnes of groundnut, which is only a fraction of an estimated 8 lakh tonnes production this year, from its 14 procurement centres so far is enough indication of its intentions. A few procurement centres are `functioning' from as long as November 27. However, according to the Oilfed officials the procurement has "picked up" for the last couple of days at Anantapur, Guntakal, Tadipatri, Madakasira, Kalyanadurg and Dharmavaram.

As the market intervention by the Government in case of groundnut is being done for the first time in the district, the Oilfed officials are taking shelter under this excuse for the poor procurement. "There is no tradition of farmers getting their groundnut to the marketyards here", the officials said. Besides, the guidelines of procurement, particularly the specifications of quality, have failed to draw the farmers to the procurement centres.

The farmers are being asked to get the samples of their product first to certify them as eligible for procurement with the conditions on shelling, wastage, damaged pods, moisture and shrivelled pods. "If the Government is so rigid in procurement what is the difference between a trader and the Government", asks Mr. Madanmohan Reddy, a farmer from Kannamapalli. He brought his sample today and was given time till December 20 for getting his stock.

Lack of market regulation by the agriculture market committees is said to be one of the main reasons for failure to divert the farmers and the traders to marketyards. Proper regulation and the resultant bidding in the marketyards in the neighbouring Kurnool district is learnt to have pegged the price of groundnut to about Rs. 1,500 per quintal. A threat could be created for the traders if the market committees succeed in spreading the message that farmers are taking their product to the yards.

Another problem to the farmers from the Oilfed procurement is that the organisation is procuring only 50 bags (about 20 quintals) per farmer on a passbook. The farmer has no other go but to approach the trader for sale of his remaining stock, even after his sale to the Oilfed, as a majority of them have received a yield of 10 to 15 bags per acre this year. A farmer must take the passbook of another farmer, who has sold his produce to the trader outside, if he has to sell 100 bags to the Oilfed.

The farmers are already unhappy over the cut in the percentage of wastage from 5 to 2 by the Oilfed. "The Government is not willing to procure sincerely and that is why it has been putting so many conditions for procurement", says Mr. Somasekhar Reddy, a farmer from Akuledu village. However, the officials of Oilfed are requesting the farmers that they get their produce with proper cleaning at their end as it will consume lot of time and labour during the procurement.

Procurement by the Oilfed will benefit the farmers get the support price and also save taxes as the Nafed will bare the 1 per cent market cess and 4 per cent sales tax. The slump in prices in the oil market, insufficient storage capacity in the district and non-release of funds are also said to be affecting the procurement. The release of Rs. 4 crores to Oilfed, announced here a few days back by the Minister for Dairy Development, Mr. N.Kistappa, has not reached it so far according to the officials.

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Section  : Southern States
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