Anantapur: High moisture content in millets worries farmers

Anantapur: The district known for its dry climate has of late experiencing a metamorphosis in climate recording excessive humidity resulting in excess moisture content in harvested crop produce. For the same reason, RBKs are reluctant to immediately procure their crop which has more than permissible levels of moisture content. The permissible level is 14 per cent moisture content but the farm produce of millets etc have moisture content up to 17 per cent.

There are more than 780 Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK) in the district. These RBK's are supposed to procure the crops and pay them minimum support price. More than 4 lakh farmers have stakes in the crops disposing through RBKs. So far, 35,000 farmers registered themselves with the RBKs for securing minimum support price.

AP MARKFED district manager Subrahmanyam told The Hans India that procurement of produce has commenced but the same will be speeded up once tenders for transport are finalised. The millet seed has excess moisture content and if the seed is harvested in that condition the seed will get rotten. Moisture content should be lesser than 12 to 14 per cent for various millet crops and less than 70 per cent for groundnut crop. Moreover, MARKFED will certainly procure the farmers produce and that farmers need not be anxious about their produce procurement.

AP MARKFED and AP OILFED have been entrusted with the responsibility of procurement.

Anxious farmers throughout the district are apprehensive on the fate of their produce which is waiting for a green signal from the agencies concerned for harvesting their crop. Due to delay in procurement, farmers have become anxious. MARKFED is in the process of finalising tenders for goods vehicles for lifting the farm produce from the fields. Some farmers, however, in their anxiety are indulging in distress sales but officials of MARKFED are advising the farmers to be patient and have faith in the government. The state government has given strict instructions to the government marketing agencies to procure farmers crops notwithstanding the high moisture content.