ADILABAD: The pace of trading and payments made to redgram farmers hardly matches the fanfare with which the State Government opened purchase centres in Adilabad district on January 10.
Against an expected arrival of over 6 lakh tonnes during the season, only 6,087 quintals of redgram have been traded under the minimum support price operations by Government agencies until January 18 and no payment has been made to the 483 farmers who sold their produce worth over ₹3 crore at market yards in Adilabad and Nirmal districts.
Moisture content
Officials attribute the slow pace of trading to the issue of high moisture content in the redgram arriving at the markets. “The Food Corporation of India and the National Agriculture Marketing Cooperative Federation and the TS MARKFED are insisting on quality produce before making purchases,” observed an official at Adilabad Agriculture Market Yard.
He said the delay is because farmers are drying their produce after bringing it to the market rather than bringing in sufficiently dry redgram. The produce with more than 12 per cent moisture content is being rejected by the purchasing agencies.
Payment process
Though the government had promised quick payments through bank accounts, no farmer has received payment. “This is because the purchased quantity has not been shifted to godowns,” General Manager of MARKFED Adilabad branch Gouru Nagender explained.
The payment is released by the FCI and NAFED upon generation of bills which happens only when the purchased redgram is deposited in the godowns. “We have received about ₹20 lakh which has been deposited in banks and will be released today to farmers,” Mr. Nagender added.
Of the 12 purchase centres which the government wanted to open in Adilabad, Nirmal, Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, only five are functioning in — Ichoda, Boath and Adilabad in Adilabad and Bhainsa and Kubeer at Nirmal.
The Bellampalli purchase centre has been opened in Mancherial and Jainoor and Asifabad will soon be opened in KB Asifabad district.
Trading at these centres and issue of payment needs to be speeded up as large quantities of the produce is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
“Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts account for over 80 per cent of the produce so there is a need to concentrate on the market yards in these districts,” suggested a farmer leader from the ruling party.
