A total of 58 direct procurement centres (DPCs) will be opened in the district to facilitate farmers to sell their ‘samba’ paddy to be harvested, Collector S. Ganesh said.
Presiding over the farmers’ grievances day meeting here on Friday, he said that so far nine centres had been opened in parts of the district and another 58 would be started shortly. Of them, seven centres would be started within a week. Earlier, a farmer, Sebastian, urged the officials to open direct procurement centres.
Replying to a plea by Appavu Balandar, a farmer, for arrangements for procurement of minor millets by the district administration, K. M. Shahjahan, Joint Director of Agriculture, and K.V.S. Kumar, Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, explained the steps initiated for encouraging cultivation of minor millets in the district. While the Agriculture Department distributed free seeds, the Cooperation Department has planned to procure and market the produce, they said.
Former MLA S. Rajasekaran urged the Collector to impress upon the private sugar mill near Aranthangi to disburse the arrears due to cane-growers. He said the cane-growers should have the liberty to register their fields with the mills of their choice.
Durai Manickam, a farmer from Avudaiyarkovil, said that steps should be taken for supplying the Mettur waters to Avudaiyarkovil and surrounding villages.
When Dhinakarasamy, a farmer, urged the state government to revise the norms for installing higher capacity pump sets up to 7.5 HP under the green energy programme. Presently, pump sets up to 5 HP alone were being permitted for use. The depletion in groundwater posed a hindrance in drawing water, he said. Officials said that as per the norms, sets up to 5 HP alone could be used under the scheme.
The Collector said the district administration had taken steps for supplying seeds and fertilisers to the needy farmers.
