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SHGs roped in for paddy procurement

BERHAMPUR: The women Self Help Groups (SHG) in Ganjam district are being used for procurement of paddy during current procurement season to end exploitation of small farmers at the hands of middlemen.

It is an effort taken up first time in the State. If it succeeds in Ganjam district then it may be repeated in other districts of the State.

Women SHG groups have progressed a lot in Ganjam district both quantitatively and qualitatively. The Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik who represents this district had used this district as a laboratory of experimentation to use women SHGs for the economic development of rural areas.

There are around 17,000 women SHGs in Ganjam district.

As an experiment the district administration has deployed 200 of these SHGs in the paddy procurement process.

This year the total target of paddy procurement from the district is estimated to be around 1,72,000 tonnes. The administration envisages to get half of this target procured through the women SHGs. According to Ganjam Collector , V.K.Pandian this process would diminish exploitation of small farmers and increase the scope of women’s emancipation in rural areas.

Till now the women SHGs have collected 22,000 tonnes of paddy from farmers in different parts of the district.

The women SHGs collect the paddy and hand it over to the Civil Supplies Department. The financial transactions between the farmers, SHGs and Civil Supplies Department occur through bankers cheques to avoid corrupt practices. There are plans to include all SHGs of the district in the paddy procurement process in the net procurement season.

A slight innovative pilot project related to paddy procurement involving four SHGs has been taken up in the Hinjli block of the district. These SHGs have been entrusted the work of processing the procured paddy and to sell it through the local Public Distribution System managed by them.

The administrative officials are monitoring this project to find out if this micro-level marketing network would be a success in rural areas to provide cheap food grains to the poor.

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