Basudevpur: Paddy procurement in Basudevpur block of Bhdarak district is allegedly in a mess. Farmers have alleged that buying of paddy by cooperatives is not being carried out properly.
Technical snags in cooperative societies and non-cooperation of millers are the main reasons why many farmers are not being able to sell off paddy at mandis.
According to reports, the Basudevpur area is a major paddy producing one in Bhadrak district. In the current year, paddy was cultivated on approximately 3,200 hectares of land.
The district paddy procurement committee nominated 20 cooperative societies in Basudevpur to buy paddy from the farmers.
For the first time, two SHGs – the Chudamani Mahila Mahasangh and the Sashubhuasuni Mahila Mahasangh – were nominated for paddy procurement in their respective panchayats.
Farmers also alleged that due to lack of storage facilities in the societies, they have to stock paddy in the open, leaving the produce exposed to sun and dew.
Farmers also informed that millers are not lifting paddy in time which is leading to problematic situations. This has resulted in slow pace of procurement at many places.
Birasa cooperative society was permitted to procure paddy from 754 farmers with a target of 23,500 quintals.
At Ballimeda, 1,208 farmers registered for procurement while tokens were generated for 400 farmers.
At Ma Kali Cooperative Society, 356 out of total 416 farmers were permitted for selling their paddy. Similarly, 519 out of 577 famers at Basudevpur and Sureswar cooperative societies were registered to sell their produce.
At Barandua society, more than 20 farmers were issued tokens for selling their paddy. However, when they went to sell their produce they found their names deleted due to a technical snag. They are now in a fix.
ARCS, Amulya Sethi said that the Cooperative Department is doing its best to hasten paddy procurement and steps are being taken to remove the bottlenecks.
PNN