Paddy farmers of East Godavari district heaved a sigh of relief with the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani moving towards the Odisha coast.
Distress sale
When cyclone warning was issued, paddy harvest was in full swing.
A few farmers resorted to distress sale when they disposed of their produce either to the millers or at the paddy procurement centres.
In the absence of adequate warehousing facilities, most of the farmers were a worried lot, as there was every possibility of the cyclone causing huge damage to the produce.
Since paddy procurement was going on at a snail’s pace, middlemen entered the scene and started offering much below the minimum support price (MSP), leaving the farmers flummoxed as they had only two options – sell the produce for a nominal price, or leave it to the cyclone.
Expected yield
As per the official estimates, paddy was transplanted in 4 lakh acres. The Agriculture Department expects the yield to be 13.64 lakh tonnes. Even as the officials planned to procure 7 lakh tonnes by setting up 225 paddy procurement centres all over the district, most of them were unable to come in handy for the farmers due to procedural delay in setting up the centres.
Climate conducive
With the cyclone changing its direction, the district officials have now shifted their focus to speeding up paddy procurement and conducting review meetings with the officials concerned and the rice millers.
Since there was no damage to the grain and the climate remained conducive, paddy farmers need not compromise on the price front, provided procurement was completed prior to the commencement of the monsoon season.
