Farmers lose sleep over falling paddy prices

Luxettipet: The paddy farmers have started agitations for demanding Minimum Support Price (MSP) for fine quality paddy. The paddy was harvested 20 days ago. But, it is still in yards with neither traders nor millers showing interest to purchase the produce. The farmers, who were disturbed over drought conditions for the past two years, heaved a sigh of relief with a favourable monsoon this year.

They even increased the area under paddy cultivation. With encouragement from the government, the farmers cultivated paddy in 80,937 acres in Mancherial district. Of the area, 60-70 per cent of the cultivated land was of fine quality paddy such as Jai Sri Ram, HMT, Akshaya and 1008. Last year, the MSP for fine quality paddy ranged between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,200 per quintal.

But, the traders and millers are not coming forward to buy paddy for at least Rs 1,800 this year in spite of a directive issued by District Collector R V Karnan at a meeting held with them on December 13. The traders used to go to the farms and purchase 50 per cent of the paddy by this time of the year at the fixed MSPs. But, this year they are not willing to spend more than Rs 1,600 per quintal.

A few farmers, in order to meet ends such as clearing bank loans, Kharif crop debts and Rabi crop investments, are selling paddy at the price quoted by the traders. The farmers are appealing to the government to procure fine quality paddy at the MSP of Rs 2,000 per quintal through paddy procure centres. They demand that the government announce a better price.

By P Satyanarayana