Madurai: Farmers at Athoor and Sithaiyankottai in Dindigul district have been forced to store their harvested paddy in the open, and they appealed to the government to open procurement centres in a full-fledged manner and procure paddy.
Athoor, Sithaiyankottai, Narasingapuram, Alagarnayakkanpatti, Sedappatti and Ayyampalayam in the district are known as the paddy bowl of Dindigul. A variety of paddy including I R-50, Ko-43, Ko-45, LLR, Akshaya, RMR-477 are cultivated in the region on more than 3,000 acres of land.
Every year the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation establishes paddy procurement centres in the region when the harvesting season begins. But, this year there was a delay in opening the procurement centres and the farmers who brought the paddy had to leave it in the open in Athoor, which was opened only on Friday. Sithaiyankottai, however, has a shed for the procurement process. But essential facilities such as dryers have not been brought and the farmers who took paddy to the centre have also left them in the open. “The process should be made faster, so that the farmers do not incur loss,” said Selvam, a farmer.
The farmers said that they were forced to spread paddy on tarpaulin sheets at these centres, but as there is dew in the morning, there are chances of the paddy becoming wet again and gaining weight. “It could also lead to attracting diseases,” said Pandiselvam, a farmer. Sudden rains could also damage the paddy.
The farmers allege that private agents are approaching them and asking for paddy offering very low prices. “If the procurement centres were opened, it would be very helpful, as this year’s produce had been less by 30 to 40 bags for about 1.5 acres whereas they used to get about 60 to 70 bags in the previous years.”
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