Incentive, MSP for paddy fail to enthuse delta farmers

‘We lost four kuruvai crops on the trot and samba too is under threat this year’

Peeved over the “paltry” incentive and fixation of Minimum Support Price mechanism for kharif paddy, delta farmers have demanded that an alternative mode for fixing price should be evolved involving all the stakeholders.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had announced a couple of days ago an incentive of Rs. 50 and Rs. 70 a quintal for mota and fine varieties of paddy in addition to the Minimum Support Price of Rs. 1,410 and Rs. 1,450 a quintal respectively fixed by the Centre for paddy procured during the current kharif season.

The prices took effect from Thursday.

However, farmers have expressed their disappointment over the Centre’s MSP and the State’s incentive saying it did not match the expenses incurred in cultivation.

Unrealistic

“This is absolutely unrealistic. Cost of cultivation has gone up considerably and coupled with labour shortage and rising input costs, our picture of woes is complete,” says V. Jeevakumar of the Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Thozhilalar Sangam, affiliated to the CPI (M).

“We lost four kuruvai crops on the trot in the Cauvery delta and the current samba is under a cloud with no sign of monsoon setting any soon,” he says.

There is the problem of the direct purchase centres of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation that procures paddy on behalf of the Food Corporation of India turning away certain varieties of paddy such as the Andhra Ponni that are popular among farmers for productivity and return.

“We are forced to sell them to private dealers outside the ambit of governments,” says Mr. Jeevakumar.

Statutory body

Instead of announcing MSP in an unscientific manner, the Centre must constitute a statutory body comprising farmers, officials, and consumers to fix the MSP in a calibrated manner.

The prevailing disparity in price fixing methods for wheat and paddy must be addressed effectively, he says.

Echoing his views, secretary of the Cauvery Farmers’ Protection Association Swamimalai Vimalnathan calls for a scientific approach on the part of the Centre in fixing the MSP for paddy.

“Constitute a statutory entity for fixing the just and right price, especially for the food crops on the lines of cash crops such as sugarcane in the larger interests of society. The cropping area has dwindled considerably over the years and it was time the governments pondered why farmers’ returns were diminishing by the year,” Mr. Vimalnathan says.

Pricing mechanism

The governments must help farmers convert agriculture into a self-reliant endeavour for which a proper pricing mechanism was required. The MSP and the incentive are of little use for us and we need a comprehensive review of the whole policy,” he says.