The district administration plans to set up a food grain processing centre to help farmers get better prices. As per plans, the government will infuse the capital investment, while farmers will run it.
Government sources said the pilot project to store 500 tonnes, will come up at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh. “The place will depend on farmers who volunteer to manage the centre. We have already begun consultations with farmers groups,” officials said.
The government will use local technology to clean and grade grains. State-of-the-art technology tools will then be utilised to keep them unspoilt. Such measures, officials hope, will insure farmers from seasonal losses. “Post-harvest care, storage and processing are priority areas for the government. We want to take up this in a big way,” Anurag Tewari, Deputy Commissioner, told The Hindu .
Studies have shown that changes in the rain calendar and lack of enough storage facilities for farm produce are making farmers not get the right prices for their produce. By taking some measures, we can ensure farmers have enough storage spaces, he said.
“We will set up a grain cleaning and storage centres in villages where farmers are willing to handle its day-to-day operations. We will set up grain silos of varying quantities. They will be let out to farmers on custom hiring basis. Farmers can keep their grain for as long as they want and sell when the price is high,” Mr Tewari said.
The grain remains in the custody of farmers and not in the hands of moneylenders or middlemen. Distress sales or storage losses can be completely eliminated, he said.
The cost of cleaning, grading and drying would be reduced as they would be shared by the farmers. Security will be arranged by the community with help from the government. The system will be managed by farmers groups or self-help groups of cooperative basis, the DC added. Veerendra Patil, bio-technology consultant, says the idea is welcome. “Such a model is successful in Europe and the U.S. Some experiments on community-based silo management have been done in States like Maharashtra too,” he said.
‘Farmers can keep their grain for as long as they want and sell when the price is high’
