Paddy procurement delayed in Bhawanipatna

The Statesman, June 24, 2009
Statesman News Service

BHAWANIPATNA, 23 JUNE: Despite the delayed monsoon this year, Kalahandi district has not yet reached its target of paddy procurement for Rabi season due to the lackadaisical attitude of Central agencies like the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Not only the farmers, but also the district administration is worried over such apathy of the agencies, who keep on providing lame excuses like storage space crunch to cover up their poor performance in the ongoing paddy procurement process.
Predictably, with more than 50,000 Metric Tons of unsold paddy still lying with the farmers, and monsoon rain likely to lash at any time, distress sale of paddy have been alleged in many pockets of the district causing resentment among the farmers and concern for the administration.
Though the monsoon rain is delayed by about two weeks this year and may arrive at any time, harvested paddy is lying unsold in many places mainly in Indravati aycut area, sources said.
Without any other alternative, the district administration has asked the agencies of the state government to expediting procuring paddy from the farmers to save them from distress sale and fear of loss due to rain.
For the procurement of Rabi paddy, different state agencies like Orissa State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd, Orissa State Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd (Markfed), Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society, FCI, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (Nafed), Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation of Orissa Ltd (TDCC), National Collateral Management Service Ltd (NCMSL) and National Bulk Handling Corporation Ltd (NBHC) have been entrusted with the task of procurement of paddy from the farmers through Regional Cooperative marketing Societies with millers working as the sub-agents.
Official sources said that till date only 1,36,450 Metric Tons of paddy has been procured by three agencies namely Orissa State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd, Markfed and Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society. The first one has played a prominent role by procuring 1,04,469 Metric Tons of paddy so far.
Shockingly, the Central agencies like FCI, Nafed, TDCC, NCMSL and NBHC have not reportedly procured a single grain of paddy yet causing a major setback to the entire procurement process.
The Food Corporation of India has not participated in the procurement process and is not even willing to take delivery of rice from other state agencies on the pretext of no space in its godowns in the district.
The FCI, having 73, 500 Metric Tons capacity godowns at Kesinga, Bhawanipatna, Dharamgarh, Junagarh and Jaipatna in the district claim that these are all filled-up.
FCI authorities are also not taking steps for diversion of stocks stored in the district to other states causing the present stalemate.
Even repeated request by the district administration to do the needful has so far fallen on deaf ears.
The district administration which has failed yet to utilise the services of these Central agencies, is now finding no alternative to meet the situation and has directed the civil supply corporation and NAFED to procure the balance quantities of paddy lying with the farmers within a week so that stocks will be cleared before the onset of monsoon.
"For the larger interest of the farmers, it is high time the FCI should clear its godowns by inter-state transfer and participate in procurement," said a senior district official. "Similarly space should be created in the civil supply corporation godowns by inter-district transfer of rice early, so that the corporation will be able to procure the balance paddy," he added.