Katihar farmers happy to sell paddy at MSP

KATIHAR: A majority of farmers in Katihar district were upbeat as their paddy was being procured by the Primary Agriculture Co-operative Society (PACS) at the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government.
Katihar DM Kanwal Tanuj said paddy procurement is the top priority. “In 2019-20, around 24,000 metric tonne (MT) paddy was procured against the target of 30,000MT.However, this year, the target has been doubled to 60,000MT,” he said and added, “Till January 8, altogether 20,428MT paddy has been procured, which is 20 times more than the 900 MT procured during the corresponding period last year.”
Last year, only 101 PACS had been activated for paddy procurement while 134 PACS/VMs (vyapar mandis) have been made operational in the district this year.
Procurement is in full swing in all the blocks of the district whereas Amdabad, Sameli and Pranpur didn’t procure the produce last year.
Timely payment to farmers is also the top priority of the district administration. The DM said kisan salahkars (farmers’ advisers) surveyed panchayats and villages during the special drive between December 29 and January 1, 2021.
Ajit Kumar, a farmer under Phulwaria panchayat, said he sold around 70 quintal paddy to PACS. “We are happy as the paddy was purchased by the PACS at the MSP,” he said.
Surendra Kumar, another farmer of the panchayat, said, “Money is credited in my Aadhaar-linked bank account through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme.”
But Dilip Kumar rued his lot for not selling his produce to PACS. “I sold 50 quintal paddy at the prevailing market rate of Rs1,400 per quintal,” he said.
Prabhakar Kumar, a senior official at Katihar Krishi Vigyan Kendra, said the MSP for paddy procurement is Rs1,868 per quintal. “Pressure is on PACS to procure paddy from farmers at MSP,” he said.
An officiating PACS chairman, preferring anonymity, said: “The process of procuring paddy from farmers should have been started in October, but it got delayed.”
He added: “Poor and marginal farmers of the district didn’t have the storage facility and they dispose of their produce at a much less price. They didn’t wait for the MSP announcement by the government and sell their produce at a much lower rate.”