Tiruchi, July 13 (IANS) Delta farmers have urged the Tamil Nadu government to speed up paddy procurement and ensure the immediate movement of procured stocks from Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs), warning that delays are causing large accumulations at open yards and slowing fresh procurement during the ongoing summer harvest season.

With harvesting of the summer crop almost complete across the Cauvery Delta, farmers say poor planning has left thousands of bags of paddy lying exposed at procurement centres for several days. They fear prolonged storage in the open could affect grain quality while also delaying procurement from growers still waiting to sell their produce.

The short-term summer paddy crop was cultivated on around 1.60 lakh acres across the Delta beginning in April. Procurement commenced during the last week of June and is scheduled to continue until August. Alongside the open DPCs, the government also established Point of Procurement centres, each with a daily procurement capacity of 1,000 bags.

Farmer organisations alleged that procurement has slowed considerably in recent weeks. According to them, many centres that initially procured around 1,000 bags a day are now handling only 500 to 600 bags daily. They attributed the slowdown to delays in moving procured paddy from DPCs to Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) warehouses and subsequently to hulling mills.

They said the usual practice of transporting paddy soon after procurement has not been followed this season, resulting in stocks remaining at open centres for extended periods.

Farmer representatives alleged that because the accumulated stocks have not been cleared, procurement staff have become reluctant to accept additional paddy from farmers, fearing further congestion at the centres.

They claimed this has forced many cultivators to continue storing harvested paddy at their own cost while waiting for procurement. They also described the situation as a case of administrative mismanagement, alleging that officials are awaiting further directions before transporting the accumulated stocks to warehouses and hulling units.

The backlog is reportedly visible across several procurement centres in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Mayiladuthurai districts.

Farmers estimate that many centres are holding between 10,000 and 15,000 bags of procured paddy that have remained in the open for several days.

They warned that prolonged exposure could lead to weight loss, discolouration and other quality issues, besides slowing procurement further at a time when farmers are looking to dispose of their harvest without delay.

–IANS

aal/dpb