Fear of distress sale is haunting farmers in Koraput district with thousands of quintals of paddy still lying in the mandis after procurement of the targeted amount.
The district witnessed a bumper crop this kharif season as about 93,700 farmers cultivated paddy over 46,240 hectares of land and their produce was close to 3 lakh tonne, according to official sources. The Government had fixed the procurement target at 1,20,169 tonnes in the first phase, which was later scaled up to 1,26,863 tonnes.
If the Government does not resume paddy procurement, farmers would be forced to sell their produce at a rate lower than the minimum support price of Rs 1,310 a quintal, said secretary of Zilla Krushaka Kalyan Manch Narendra Kumar Pradhan.
Senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati attributed the agrarian crisis to the State Government’s lack of vision.
“The Government does not have a specific policy for farmers. Such an attitude will demoralise farmers and they will hesitate to take up farming in future,” he said.
“The Government should take immediate steps to check distress sale and protect farmers from being exploited by middlemen,” he added.
District Civil Supplies Officer Pitambar Acharya said, “We have sought permission from the Government to procure paddy over and above the target and are waiting for the nod.”