Farmers across Karimnagar district are resorting to distress sale of their discoloured paddy to rice millers at less than the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government as IKP procurement centres are refusing to purchase the damaged paddy.
The rice millers are paying the farmers ₹ 1,500 to ₹ 1,600 per quintal against the government MSP of ₹ 1,835 per quintal for Grade A variety, and ₹ 1,810 per quintal for the common variety. Besides, the rice millers were weighing an extra four kg for each quintal of paddy weighed, and additional one kg for the gunny bag.
Short weighing
To compound the farmers’ woes, if a farmer is arriving tractor load, millers were deducting four to five quintals of paddy per load. Against the normal weight of 51 quintals in a tractor load, millers were paying for only 46 quintals. Farmers allege that weighbridge authorities had colluded with the millers and cheating them.
Rythu Ikya Vedika district president M.Venkat Reddy said the farmers were at the receiving end this Kharif season. “We expected a bumper harvest following bountiful rains. But the unseasonal rains had shattered our dreams as the crop got discoloured. Though the government had set up IKP procurement centres, officials there are vehemently opposed to purchasing the damaged paddy,” he complained.
With no other way to dispose of the produce, farmers were approaching millers only to be short-changed by them on the pretext of discoloured paddy. “Though the paddy is discoloured, it’s in good quality and will be good quality of rice after milling,” he stated. He added that millers were exploiting the farmers on the discoloured pretext even as the government had not given any instructions to its procurement centres not to buy discoloured paddy from farmers.
Mr. Reddy urged the government to take appropriate measures for the procurement of discoloured paddy by the IKP procurement centres, and also traders.
