Over 5L tonne paddy reaches grain markets, 96% lifted so far

In a major respite for the flood-hit farmers in Punjab, the pace of paddy procurement is gradually improving although crop arrival remains slow. Arhtiyas have expressed satisfaction over the ongoing lifting and payment process.

Harbans Singh Rosha, president of the Khanna Grain Market Arhtiyas Association, said out of nearly seven lakh bags that had arrived so far, over six lakh had already been lifted and payments made to the farmers.

“So far, over 5,14,036.61 metric tonne (MT) paddy has arrived in the mandis, of which over 4,81,967.08 MT has been lifted by procurement agencies. Around Rs 923-crore payments have been released to farmers, while Rs 743 crore dues are pending,” he said.

Rosha said the government’s decision to start procurement from September 15, instead of October 10, had helped streamline the process. “Generally, procurement starts around October 10 and picks up pace by October 15. This often delays harvesting and triggers panic harvesting and also results in farm fires. This year’s early start has helped both farmers and arhtiyas,” he added.

However, the situation in Patiala’s grain market is not as smooth. Pawan Kumar Singla, chairman of the Patiala Arhtiyas’ Association, said the forecast of heavy rainfall had triggered panic among farmers, who harvested their crop in a rush.

“Much of the crop that reached the mandi over the past two days has a high moisture content. We are reluctant to load such stock into gunny bags and are trying to dry it first. We have requested farmers who have storage space to hold back their produce until it dries properly before bringing it to the mandis,” he said.

Bringing paddy with high moisture could lead to dispute with lifting agencies, though the overall lifting and payment process remained smooth, he added.

Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, however, said the farmers in Dhariwal town of Gurdaspur had raised complaints against rice sheller operators. “They alleged that sheller owners were demanding cut ranging from Rs 179 to Rs 300 per quintal for lifting paddy with moisture content above the permissible limit of 17 per cent,” he said.

“We have flagged the issue with the Gurdaspur district authorities. These farmers are already reeling under heavy losses due to floods and must not be exploited at this time,” he added.