Rich harvest caught in procurement tangle

For weeks, farmers crossed Telangana person been guarding tarpaulin-covered heaps of paddy nether the unfastened sky, anxiously watching the occasional acheronian clouds arsenic procurement delays agelong on.

An untimely spell of rainfall tin soak their atom overnight portion prolonged delays successful procurement are draining farmers financially done mounting labour and transport costs. With the adjacent sowing play accelerated approaching, galore fearfulness they whitethorn beryllium forced into caller indebtedness earlier they are adjacent paid for the existent harvest.

In Gopalapuram colony of Jammikunta mandal successful Karimnagar district, 60-year-old husbandman S. Shankaraiah is battling a situation of his own. On May 5, a occurrence reduced his three-acre maize harvest to ashes conscionable days earlier harvest. The blaze besides destroyed different 67 acres of lasting maize successful neighbouring farms.

But the nonaccomplishment of maize is lone 1 portion of his distress; Shankaraiah is present waiting for the procurement of 35 bags of paddy harvested from his remaining land. “The lone solace is that the harvested paddy escaped the fire. We request compensation for the maize nonaccomplishment and faster procurement to past these hard times,” helium says.

Nearly 150 kilometres distant successful Devulamma Nagaram colony of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, 48-year-old husbandman Yadamma faces a antithetic battle. On a blistery day successful the 2nd week of May, she bends repeatedly to stitchery paddy dispersed implicit tarpaulin sheets into a tub earlier pouring it onto a mound. The atom had been partially soaked during rainfall past Sunday. Since then, Yadamma, her household members and hired workers person been drying the atom repeatedly earlier it tin beryllium sold astatine a authorities procurement centre.

“The signs of untimely rainfall scare us,” she says portion lifting different tub of atom nether the harsh day sun.

Every evening, the household gathers the paddy into heaps and covers it with tarpaulin sheets fearing different spell of rain

It has been 28 days since respective farmers successful the colony brought their nutrient to the IKP procurement centre. “We truly anticipation it gets cleared soon,” Yadamma says.

The household pays astir ₹800 per time to each idiosyncratic and to trim costs, they besides prime up tubs and shovels themselves. With the adjacent sowing play approaching, Yadamma fears they whitethorn person to get wealth for caller concern if payments for the existent harvest are further delayed.

Across procurement centres tally by Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP), Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and different agencies successful Telangana, akin scenes are unfolding arsenic farmers hold for the procurement of paddy, maize, jowar, bengal gram and sunflower. At respective centres, atom lies nether the unfastened entity for weeks, exposed to heat, particulate and untimely rain.

Desperation to merchantability the produce, fearfulness of harvest harm and anxiousness implicit mounting debts are among the astir communal concerns voiced by farmers crossed districts.

Record harvest, rising distress

Ironically, the distress has emerged successful a play of grounds cultivation. Officials of the Agriculture Department accidental favourable conditions specified arsenic availability of irrigation h2o from projects, steadfast groundwater levels and capable input proviso helped bring implicit 92.17 lakh acres nether cultivation this rabi season, the highest ever successful Telangana.

Paddy unsocial was cultivated successful implicit 65.42 lakh acres, maize successful astir 16.37 lakh acres and jowar successful much than 4.03 lakh acres. Other rabi crops specified arsenic bengal gram, groundnut, greengram, sesamum, sunflower and safflower besides contributed to the grounds acreage.

With conducive upwind and irrigation support, paddy accumulation is estimated astatine astir 1.6 crore tonnes with an mean output of 24 quintals per acre. Maize accumulation is estimated astatine 43.49 lakh tonnes with an mean output of 26.6 quintals per acre portion jowar output is estimated astatine 4.03 lakh tonnes with an mean output of 10 quintals per acre.

To grip the output, the State authorities opened 8,575 procurement centres, including astir 3,500 IKP centres and 4,350 centres tally by PACS, with a people of procuring 90 lakh tonnes of paddy this season.

As of May 13, astir 30 lakh tonnes had been procured and ₹4,520 crore credited to farmers’ slope accounts, according to the Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation. The State has besides procured astir 7 lakh tonnes of maize and immoderate quantities of bengal gram and sunflower aft the Centre allegedly refused to enactment procurement of those crops.

Amid mounting complaints from farmers, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy connected Tuesday reviewed issues specified arsenic shortage of gunny bags, porters and proscription bottlenecks, and directed officials to expedite procurement of paddy and maize successful ngo mode. He has warned that negligence astatine immoderate level would not beryllium tolerated.

The Civil Supplies Department excessively had identified 5 large bottlenecks affecting procurement and issued directions for urgent corrective measures. District Civil Supplies Officers were instructed to place atom mills, wherever vehicles were stranded owed to delays successful unloading, and guarantee contiguous clearance of pending stocks.

Despite these interventions, the pace of procurement continues to trigger disapproval from the Opposition parties, peculiarly the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Bharatiya Janata Party, which person accused the authorities of dilatory procurement, delayed shifting of atom to mills and godowns, and precocious payments to farmers.

The government, however, has rejected the allegations arsenic politically motivated. “The authorities is committed to procure the promised quantity of paddy and marque payments successful clip to farmers,” says Minister for Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy.

According to authoritative figures, paddy procurement successful Telangana stood astatine 13.24 lakh tonnes successful 2014-15, 8.42 lakh tonnes successful 2015-16, 37.21 lakh tonnes successful 2016-17, 35.74 lakh tonnes successful 2017-18, 37.05 lakh tonnes successful 2018-19, 64.18 lakh tonnes successful 2019-20, 90.01 lakh tonnes successful 2020-21, 50.9 lakh tonnes successful 2021-22, 64.52 lakh tonnes successful 2022-23, 48 lakh tonnes successful 2023-24 and 72.42 lakh tonnes successful 2024-25.

Despite the large-scale procurement workout and competing governmental claims, the crushed world astatine galore centres remains grim. At an IKP centre successful Panagal of Nalgonda district, farmers wonderment whether the prolonged delays are an indirect effort to discourage paddy cultivation arsenic portion of harvest diversification efforts.

“When irrigation h2o is available, we people similar paddy cultivation. Other crops are damaged by monkeys, chaotic boars and deer. But if procurement delays proceed similar this, we are successful for a batch of trouble,” says a husbandman waiting for his nutrient to beryllium cleared.

The procurement process itself has go a large bottleneck. After harvesting paddy, farmers transport it connected tractors to procurement centres, unload it, dispersed it for drying and screen it with tarpaulin sheets. They past person receipts with token numbers and hold for their turn. Once procurement begins, hamalis (porters) measurement the produce, battalion it successful gunny bags and load them onto lorries for transport to atom mills and eventual proviso to the Food Corporation of India.

Multiple delays mar procurement

Farmers accidental delays hap astatine each signifier of this chain. There are delays successful arranging porters, shortages of gunny bags and deficiency of dense vehicles to transport grain. Several farmers besides allege that lorries stay stranded extracurricular mills for days due to the fact that atom mills neglect to unload paddy immediately, further straining the availability of transport vehicles. The delays besides impact preparations for the adjacent harvest season.

Farmers astatine Aneparthy IKP centre successful Nalgonda territory accidental the procurement gait gets flooded during dense rainfall arsenic it is located connected little ground. “Produce of lone 13 farmers was cleared successful 2 months. More than 130 farmers are inactive waiting. You tin cipher however agelong it volition take,” says K. Ramachandraiah, a farmer.

With Rohini Karte, the play associated with highest summertime vigor earlier the onset of pre-monsoon showers, accelerated approaching, farmers are disquieted astir the prolonged vulnerability of atom to rainfall and moisture. If paddy gets soaked, they indispensable again prosecute workers, displacement the atom to safer places and adust it repeatedly earlier it becomes acceptable for sale. Many farmers accidental they walk astatine slightest ₹600 per idiosyncratic each time too paying for leased tarpaulin sheets costing astir ₹20 per expanse daily.

Farmers besides fearfulness deterioration successful atom quality. Moisture contented tin trim the terms they person oregon adjacent unit them to merchantability beneath the Minimum Support Price (MSP). In immoderate cases, atom whitethorn germinate if near bedewed for excessively long.

Many accidental that definite procurement centres and mills are besides imposing unfair deductions. They assertion nutrient belonging to immoderate farmers acold down successful the queue is allegedly being cleared earlier. Others allege that mills unit them to overfill bags oregon deduct atom successful the sanction of chaff and wastage. A gunny container ideally contains 40 kg of paddy, but respective farmers kick they are being forced to capable up to 42 kg.

K. Anjaneyulu, a husbandman from Madipally colony successful Hasanparthy mandal of Hanumakonda district, says cultivators had been waiting for gunny bags for implicit 10 days. “We are visiting the procurement centre each day, but successful vain arsenic nary bags are available,” helium says.

Farmers besides kick astir non-uniform hamali charges and irregular weighing practices. Farmers’ person Namireddy Yadagiri Reddy from Nalgonda alleges that millers are deducting astir 35 kg per tractor-load of paddy too resorting to irregular weighing methods. “At a clip erstwhile farmers are suffering, governmental leaders are much focused connected publicity,” helium says, demanding that Ministers and legislators should inspect procurement centres connected a regular ground and guarantee contiguous proscription of atom to mills.

In Rukmapur colony of Karimnagar district, husbandman Rajamallu says it has been implicit 3 weeks since helium brought 300 bags of paddy to the procurement centre. “There are inactive nary signs of lifting the stock,” helium says, pointing to heaps of paddy lying nether tarpaulin sheets nearby.

This distress is not constricted to paddy growers. Maize farmers crossed the erstwhile Warangal portion are grappling with a crisp autumn successful prices, delayed procurement and exploitation by backstage traders. While the MSP for maize is ₹2,400 per quintal, farmers accidental they are often forced to merchantability astatine astir ₹2,000 oregon adjacent little due to the fact that of mounting labour and proscription costs.

K. Balaraju, a husbandman from Mogilicherla colony successful Geesugonda mandal of Warangal district, says helium cultivated maize connected 2.3 acres but yet sold the nutrient to a backstage trader for ₹1,920 per quintal. “I waited for 10 days astatine the Enumamula marketplace gait and yet sold it to a backstage trader,” helium says.

Balaraju besides alleges that farmers are being forced to bargain gunny bags astatine ₹30 each though the authorities reimburses lone ₹15 per bag.

Nexus alleged

Farmer groups and Opposition leaders person accused the authorities of negligence successful procurement, and alleged collusion betwixt officials and millers successful imposing deductions successful the sanction of quality. Bharatiya Janata Party Kisan Morcha State president Lakshmi Narsaiah alleges that farmers are being forced to hold for weeks astatine procurement centres portion millers exploit them done deductions. “We are spending sleepless nights owed to the inordinate hold successful paddy procurement,” says Srinivas, different farmer, alleging that errant millers are reducing the value of paddy successful the sanction of chaff and categorising prime nutrient arsenic ‘B’ grade.

Several farmers besides constituent to shortage of retention abstraction and delays successful shifting atom to mills. “We staged a rasta roko connected the Karimnagar-Choppadandi road connected Tuesday to item our grievances,” says a young farmer, demanding urgent authorities intervention.