Paddy procurement likely to be extended

KOZHIKODE: The year 2012 seems to be a favourable one for paddy farmers of the state. If things pan out as expected, the State Government would soon extend paddy procurement to all districts, which has been a long-pending demand of the farmers. The Agriculture Department has forwarded a proposal regarding this to the State Government and a preliminary meeting of various agencies including cooperative societies would be convened within a week, top officials said.Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has been procuring paddy from Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts. In view of the agrarian crisis, the government extended paddy procurement to Wayanad recently. Civil Supplies Minister Shibu Baby John told Express that the department would actively consider direct procurement of paddy from the districts which are notified by the Agriculture Department.Supplyco chairperson and managing director M Beena said that the Agriculture Department had to allot three procurement officers and four agriculture assistants for each district to initiate procurement. “Supplyco  would undertake paddy procurement from other districts if the government provides sufficient staff and monetary support. Presently, rice mills are located in Central Kerala. Transportation of paddy from northern and southern districts to mills in Ernakulam and Thrissur would incur additional expense. We should also have to check the possibility of starting mills in northern and Southern districts,” she said. If materialises, paddy farmers across the State would get `15 for per kilogram of paddy, which is the minimum support price offered by the State Government. At present, farmers of the districts from where the government is not procuring paddy are getting a price below `10 per kilogram.  Farmer organisations in the state have welcomed this move. “The decision would provide much relief to the paddy farmers.  However, the state government should carry out procurement in a time-bound manner,” said Karshaka Congress state president Lal Varghese Kalpakavadi.