Postponement to rule out moisture in paddy: Modi government

New Delhi, October 1

With farmers protesting the 10-day delay in paddy procurement, the Centre today said the decision to start the process from October 11 in Punjab and Haryana had been taken keeping in mind the interests of farmers.

“Procuring paddy having high moisture is fraught with risk. The rice grain will be vulnerable to shrivelling, blackening, discolouration and infestation. This may result in rejection of paddy at procurement centres and trigger distress sale, causing losses to the farmers,” said officials from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

They cited a letter from the Haryana Government requesting relaxation in moisture content in view of untimely rains. The moisture problem could be minimised if paddy crop was harvested after 10 days, they said.

The officials said the FCI’s regional offices had found paddy samples having moisture ranging from 18 to 22 per cent in Punjab and 18.2 to 22.7 per cent in Haryana against the permissible limit of 17 per cent. — TNS