With the samba paddy harvest under way in the delta districts, farmers in Nagapattinam are sore over the delay in opening direct purchase centres (DPCs) by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC).
With the Pongal festival round the corner, farmers in the district, who are already reeling under the impact of Cyclone Gaja, are hard pressed for cash flow as the price in the open market has crashed due to the impending harvest that would create a glut in the market.
“It is appalling that the TNCSC has not opened even a single DPC in Nagapattinam district so far. With the Pongal festival, the most important of festivals for us, just a few days away, farmers are in dire straits,” said Cauvery Dhanapalan, general secretary, Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.
When contacted a TNCSC official in Nagapattinam district said steps were being taken to open 50 DPCs initially and they are likely to function from January 11.
The Mettur reservoir was opened for delta irrigation on July 19, 2018 and the water reached the tail-end areas by the end of the month. Usually, the crop is harvested after 135 days and now more than 150 days have passed since August.
“Normally, up to 280 DPCs will be opened in the district. The Agriculture Department has now recommended opening of 190 DPCs initially. But so far, there are no signs of the centres being opened,” Mr.Dhanapalan lamented.
In the absence of the DPCs, farmers are left at the mercy of private traders who exploit the situation by offering poor rates. According to him, farmers are now offered just ₹850 for a 60 kg bag of paddy whereas farmers would get ₹1,100 at the government rates at DPCs. Besides, the traders lift the stock on credit and pay the money only after 15 days to farmers.
The farmers would get ₹1,840 a quintal for Grade A variety paddy and ₹1,800 a quintal for common variety at the DPCs.
“There is no point opening DPCs midway through the harvest. The TNCSC should have opened the DPCs immediately and also relaxed the upper limit for the moisture content in view of heavy fog this season,” Mr. Dhanapalan said.
Mr.Dhanapalan contends that though DPCs have been opened in neighbouring Tiruvarur and Thanjavur district, they are also few in numbers and not adequate to procure the production from the delta region.
Echoing his view, Puliyur A. Nagarajan, president, Farmers Wing of the Tamil Maanila Congress, said farmers were struggling to sell their produce in view of the crash in price in the open market.
“Farmers are already faced with loss of yield due to Cyclone Gaja. Now, delay in opening adequate number of DPCs is hitting them hard,” he said.
He alleged that about 110 DPCs, which were opened for procuring kuruvai paddy, is being shown as functional now in Tiruvarur district, where over 400 DPCs would be opened normally. While Mr. Nagarajan charged that the government was delaying the procurement due to shortage of funds, Mr.Dhanapalan alleged that there was a shortage of gunny bags.
Sources in the TNCSC, Thanjavur, told The Hindu that 128 DPCs have been opened so far in Thanjavur district, most of them concentrated in Orathanadu area. Thirty-nine more DPCs are to be opened shortly. More DPCs would be opened based on demand, an official said and maintained that as of now adequate number of gunny bags was available in the district.
Mannargudi S. Ranganathan, General Secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association observed that though some DPCs were functioning, the infrastructure of most of the centres have been damaged in Cyclone Gaja and need to be repaired immediately.
