NRO Professor Digambara Patra urged that  paddy procurement in the State should be brought under the ambit of 5T to ensure transparency in the system.

"It is an open secret in Odisha that 5-10 kg of paddy is deducted per quintal from farmers in Mandis as agent fees or citing poor quality, etc., which directly goes to corrupt local officials, local politicians, agents and others. And when a farmer denies paying this charge to this nexus, his/her paddy is kept for weeks in the mandis citing various reasons. In the village and panchayat level, more than 60 percent population of Odisha is somehow linked with mandis. Thus, a corrupt mandi system is not giving a positive message to the Governance," told Patra in his letter to CM Naveen Patnaik.

He said it would be wise to also bring mandis under 5T Department and punish those who practice this illegal cut of 5 kg paddy from farmers. This will have a very direct and positive impact in the ground level and surely people will further appreciate your honest approach to give a transparent and efficient governance, he told.

Similarly, recently Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Governments are speeding up farm sector reforms during this lockdown period by allowing private players to open mandis, designating warehouses and cold storages as private mandis, and even encouraging farmers to sell their products to private players from home using online or other technology. It is right time Odisha also bring such reform to give better and competitive price to the Odisha farmers for their products, he said further.

He also drew attention to the problem faced by the farmers of Thuamul Rampur block in Kalahandi having more than 50 percent of tribal population, where there are no registered farmers nor any PACS.