Tardy pace of paddy procurement has Karnal farmers staring at glut

Second day into paddy procurement, reports said only 10% of the produce coming in had been bought, while lifting of the procured paddy had not begun at most mandis in Karnal

Even as paddy has been arriving steadily since Sunday, poor pace of procurement is leading to a glut at grain markets, leaving no space for farmers to unload more produce.

Farmers protesting delay in procurement in Karnal on Monday. They claim officials are citing higher moisture content in their produce for delay, even when they were ready to bear deductions. (HT Photo)

Second day into the procurement, reports said only 10% of the produce coming in had been bought, while lifting of the procured paddy had not begun at most mandis.

“Due to delayed procurement and lifting, there is no space to bring more produce and harvesting is also being held up. The grain markets will be overloaded in the next two-three days,” said a commission agent, Sohan Lal, at Ladwa grain market.

On the hand, officials of procurement agencies said the farmers were arriving without any schedule, leading to disorder, and as per government norms, they cannot purchase paddy with moisture content beyond the permissible limit, which is 17%.

“Officials are citing higher moisture content for delay, even when we are ready to bear deductions,” said Ajay Kumar, a farmer waiting at the Indri grain market in Karnal district.

Vexed farmers lock mandi gates

On Monday, as farmers arriving without schedule were not allowed to enter, they locked the entrance gates of grain markets at Karnal, Nilokheri and Indri. They also blocked highways to express resentment against the procurement norms set by the government.

Later, Karnal deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav held a joint meeting with the farmers, commission agents and rice-millers, and assured that gate passes will be generated from 5am to 9pm every day.

Rice millers also demanded waiver of the 5% security levied on them for milling the procured paddy under the custom-milled rice (CMR) policy.

Yadav said the rice-millers had agreed to join the procurement process following an assurance to resolve their concerns within two days.

He appealed to farmers to bring their produce as per schedule to avoid inconvenience and allow hassle-free procurement.