Bonus Has Positive Uptick on Paddy Prices for Farmers

Hyderabad: The Telangana civil supplies department has procured a record 47.56 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) compared to 41.27 LMT by this time last year. Farmers in the state have given a thumbs-up to the Rs 500 bonus and said it has had a positive effect on the price of paddy.

So far the department has paid Rs 10,252 crores for the 47.56 LMT of paddy procured. Of this 28.35 LMT is of coarse variety and 19.21 of fine varieties. The paddy was procured from 8.97 lakh farmers. A bonus of Rs 591 crores has been paid so far.

Officials of the department said that the procurement will largely be completed by the first week of January. The department opened 8,318 paddy purchase centres (PPC), more than the 6,645 opened during the last Kharif season.

N.G. Venkat, a farmer from Chittanoor village in Marikal mandal of Narayanpet district, said he gave around 300 quintals of paddy to the PPC. “I gave paddy to the government as private traders tend to cheat. The government should speed up payment for paddy and bonus.”

V. Raju, another farmer from the same village, has opted to grow fine rice and coarse variety during the rabi again. But not all farmers have opted to sell to the government which insists on 17 per cent moisture and various other norms for purchasing paddy.

G. Rami Reddy, a farmer from the same village, said that he chose to sell in the open market as drying the produce involves time, labour expenses to bring paddy to the norms prescribed. He further added the climate also plays truant influencing their choices.

Agreeing with him is N.L. Prasad is a farmer from Ranampalli village of Rudrur mandal of Nizamabad district. “Trying to get rid of moisture reduces the weight of a 70 kg bag of paddy by 8 to 9 kgs. Owing to lack of facilities to guard the paddy from rains, the price of the produce in the open market falls by Rs 200 if it rains.”

If continuous rains are forecast, he said the price falls further so farmers tend to sell to the traders to ward off these uncertainties.