This is somewhat shocking for Odisha’s much-touted e-procurement system as the home truths coming to the fore reveal that the paddy Minimum Support Price (MSP) is benefitting little to small and marginal farmers in the State.
Consider the inequities galore.
When the State’s small and marginal farmers with nearly 73 per cent landholdings could contribute a mere around 18 per cent of paddy procurement, farmers with around 9 per cent landholdings contribute a whopping around 65 per cent of paddy procured.
Such a bitter fact was brought to the fore on Wednesday by the Commission on Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP).
The CACP’s 2018-19 Kharif report labelled Odisha paddy procurement as highly-skewed. Because marginal farmers (below 1 hectare land) owning the State’s over 42 per cent of operational landholdings could contribute a mere 5 per cent of paddy procurement in 2016-17.
Similarly, small farmers (1-2 hectare land) with around 31 per cent landholding have contributed only 12.9 per cent paddy procured in 2016-17.
In contrast, large farmers owning a mere 1.4 per cent landholdings chipped in with a whopping over 36 per cent of procured paddy in the 2016-17 Kharif Marketing Season (KMS).
Farmers having land of more than 2 hectare-10+ hectare have availed the MSP to the hilt as together they accounted for 72.9 per cent of the paddy procured in 2016-17.
This significant revelation has brought to focus the root cause of the lingering farm crisis in Odisha as it shows needy and vulnerable farmers could not avail guaranteed price support hinting at widespread distress paddy selling. Significantly, the CACP report blamed the State Government as it pointed out non-availability of procurement centres in villages as one major reason for poor procurement from small and marginal farmers.
“Owing to no procurement centres in villages, lack of market access and high transportation cost thereof when transported to nearby procurement centres have dissuaded small and marginal farmers from availing the MSP in Odisha,” the report observed.
The report also detailed reasons like subsistence farming, lack of awareness about MSP, FAQ as the other plausible factors behind poor procurement from poor farmers in Odisha.
However, a recent NITI Aayog evaluation report on the MSP puts non-availing of MSP by small and marginal farmers in perspective when its survey in three districts of Khordha, Bargarh and Mayurbhanj reveals the fact that Odisha is the one of a few States where a whopping 72 per cent of farmers receive payment after one month vis-à-vis 97.5 per cent farmers getting payment on the same day in Karnataka.
Here lies the catch as the same NITI Aayog’s evaluation report survey has showed that the farmers who sold paddy in open market have received on-the-spot payment even if it is below the MSP.
Since small and marginal farmers need immediate cash to sustain family expenses, debt on farm loans, etc., they go in for open market selling even if it is below the MSP, observed the report.
Moreover, the NITI Aayog evaluation report reveals that nearly 40-45 per cent of farmers in Odisha are not aware of the MSP.
Shedding a poor light on agri extension services in Odisha, the report notes that nearly two-thirds of farmers in the State learn about the MSP from knowledgeable persons vis-a-vis a mere one-fifth from State Government officials.