The State government on Thursday persuaded rice-mill owners to purchase over 20,000 tonnes of paddy that had piled up in Palakkad after the procurement process had derailed owing to various reasons.
Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, Civil Supplies Minister P. Thilothaman, and Minister for Cooperation Kadakampally Surendran met mill owners across a table and hammered out a two-party agreement to resurrect the procurement of paddy.
The arrangement has come as a respite for beleaguered farmers in Palakkad, who had endured crop loss owing to climate change- fuelled catastrophic vagaries of the weather.
Turnout ratio reduced
The mill owners agreed to acquire the paddy for ₹214 a quintal. The government has reduced the turnout ratio of rice from 68 kg to 64.5 kg a quintal at the request of the mill owners.
Mill owners had stopped buying paddy from farmers since September 21. They had demanded a higher processing charge and lesser turnout ration for converting paddy to rice. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was scheduled to hear the complaints of mill owners.
