Overflowing Godowns, Unhappy Millers: Why Punjab’s paddy procurement has been delayed

How does paddy procurement enactment ?

The Centre, successful consultation with authorities governments and the Food Corporation of India (FCI), finalises estimates for paddy procurement each twelvemonth anterior to the commencement of the kharif selling play (October to September).

State authorities agencies and the FCI acquisition paddy from farmers wrong a stipulated play for the cardinal excavation astatine the Minimum Support Price (MSP). This paddy is milled, aft which the procured atom is transported by the FCI to authorities retention facilities crossed the country. There it is stored for maintaining the buffer stock, oregon further distributed for depletion nether the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and different payment schemes.

What is the existent presumption of paddy procurement successful Punjab?

As of October 23, lone 37.68 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured by the FCI from Punjab, good beneath the 49 lakh tonne people astatine the aforesaid clip past year, and a acold outcry from the expected 185 lakh tonnes for the full season. The highest procurement play ends successful the archetypal week of November.

The dilatory question of procured paddy from the mandis (grain markets) is the biggest concern. While astir fractional of the procured paddy had already been moved retired of the mandis this clip past year, this twelvemonth a small much than a tenth of the procured paddy (10.55% oregon 8.7 lakh tonnes) has near the mandis. This is glut of paddy successful the mandis is slowing down the full procurement process.

What explains this concern successful Punjab?

There are 3 superior factors astatine play.

Lack of retention space: Private atom millers are resisting taking successful authorities paddy owed to a abstraction crunch successful authorities go-downs. Millers are acrophobic that they would themselves person to store this paddy for an full twelvemonth — thing not galore are keen to do.

This occupation emanates from a erstwhile one. Punjab, this year, could determination lone 7 lakh tonnes of the astir 124 lakh tonnes of milled atom successful its authorities godowns. This has near precise small abstraction successful these godowns to store milled atom from this year.

Controversy astir hybrids: Adding to the occupation are definite privately-developed hybrid varieties that person seemingly inundated the marketplace this year. Millers assertion that these non-recommended hybrids are liable for a little milling out-turn ratio (OTR) than FCI standards demand, making them a loss-making proposition.

OTR refers to the proportionality of atom that is extracted from paddy aft the milling process. Millers person to present an OTR of 67% per quintal. If the out-turn is lower, they indispensable wage thegovernment for the difference. Millers accidental that the hybrids successful question person an OTR of lone 60% to 62%, starring to a nonaccomplishment of astir Rs 300 per quintal .

Troubles from labour, arhtiyas: Arhtiyas (commission agents) are the middlemen successful the atom procurement process. They are present demanding a compensation of 2.5% connected harvest acquisition arsenic opposed to the existent strategy of fixed remuneration of Rs 46 per quintal. Mandi labourers excessively are seeking higher wages, comparable to their counterparts successful Haryana. Protests by these groups person further stalled the procurement process.

What is the interaction of the hold successful paddy procurement?

* Only 22% of the paddy harvest has been harvested truthful acold — astir 20% little than past year. Farmers are deliberately slowing down the harvest process due to the fact that mandis simply bash not person abstraction to store their crop. They anticipation this would mitigate the hazard of distress income caused by the atom spoiling successful mediocre retention conditions.

However, the longer paddy stands connected the field, the greater the hazard of value nonaccomplishment and wide prime deterioration, which excessively leads to a autumn successful prices. This means that a persistent hold successful paddy procurement volition pb to important economical distress among farmers.

* With farmers typically sowing the wintertime wheat harvest successful November, a hold successful harvesting paddy besides threatens to propulsion disconnected the state’s cultivation cycle. This excessively tin beryllium precise damaging for the state’s agriculture sector.

Moreover, a smaller model betwixt harvesting paddy and sowing wheat is besides apt to pb to much stubble fires, which pb to aerial contamination crossed overmuch of North India.

* A prolonged situation could besides spark unrest among farmers. This could rapidly spiral into a instrumentality and bid occupation for the state, which would further compromise Punjab’s quality to negociate the situation.

How tin this situation beryllium managed?

The authorities urgently needs to find impermanent retention solutions. The astir readily disposable specified solution would beryllium to store paddy successful Punjab’s 5,000 unusual atom mills. But to bash this, the authorities indispensable archetypal code the millers’ concerns which see OTR trials for hybrid varieties, and stricter regularisation of effect certification.

Better coordination betwixt procurement agencies, proscription networks, and retention facilities, arsenic good arsenic timely outgo of arhtiya commissions, and addressing labour demands volition besides assistance successful improving the procurement process.

In the agelong term, Punjab indispensable diversify its harvest basal to debar the occupation of surplus which lies astatine the bosom of the existent crisis.