The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : Higher MSP not to benefit farmers in Koraput

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Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Higher MSP not to benefit farmers in Koraput

Correspondent

KORAPUT: At least 10,000 marginal and small-scale farmers from Koraput sub-division will be forced to sell their paddy at a low price in the open market despite declaration of a higher minimum support price by the government, unless the district administration gives a fresh look into its social commitment towards the welfare of the common man.

As per the decision taken by the authorities concerned, 28 ‘mandis’, the special market centres for the procurement of paddy have been identified to facilitate 63 rice mills in the district to procure 72,000 metric tonnes of paddy this season, according to Rabinarayan Nayak, District Civil Supplies Officer.

While 1,200 metric tonnes of paddy will be collected by millers directly from the ‘mandis’, Civil Supplies Department, Food Corporation of India (FCI), TDCC, Markfed and other agencies are given the target to collect the rest and hand over to millers at different points.

It has been decided to open ‘mandis’ at Kotpad, Borigumma, Jeypore, Nuagaon, Kundura and Digapur under the Jeypore sub-division. The procurement is expected to rise for the increase in the minimum support price fixed at Rs. 745 per quintal of paddy this year, he says.

However, these facilities have been kept at bay from farmers of Koraput sub-division for there is no ‘mandi’ being opened in none of the nine blocks.

Transportation cost

According to Mr. Nayak, there is no way that farmers could be helped to get the benefit near their place unless they themselves reached Jeypore covering distances varying from 25 to 150 km to sell their produce at the minimum support price.

The millers and other agencies are allowed to bear the transportation cost only up to a distance of seven km from the respective mills and places in Koraput without a single rice mill had lost the chance to avail the facility, he adds.

Even though scattered, at least 10,000 farmers, majority of whom are small farmers cultivate in 26,185 hectares of land in Koraput sub-division producing a minimum of 6,500 tonnes of paddy every season, says Narayan Panda, District Agricultural Officer.

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