Paddy procurement impasse in Kerala continues

The impasse in paddy procurement continued on Thursday with private rice mill owners insisting that the Kerala government address their woes before entering into a fresh agreement for procurement.

Although rice mill owners under the Kerala Rice Millers Association held discussions with the Minister for Agriculture on Wednesday, the mill owners said the government could not offer anything that could address their losses and problems.

Association general secretary Verkey Peter said in a statement here they were willing to help the farmers as the Supplyco had the authority to extend the existing contract for a couple of months. However, he said the millers would not enter into a new contract with the government until their woes are addressed.

Meanwhile, farmers under the banner of the Desiya Karshaka Samajam (DKS) warned that they would have to quit paddy and turn to other crops if the government continued its lackadaisical attitude to farmers.

Farmers across Palakkad district have been on a warpath as the government failed to begin paddy procurement in spite of many farmers already having harvested their paddy. The farmers are finding it tough to store the harvested paddy.

DKS district general secretary Muthalamthodu Mani said paddy cultivation in the State had shrunk by four times in the last 50 years, adding that the State had 8.25 lakh hectares of paddy in 1970. “Today, it has shrunk to just two lakh hectares. The main reason for this is the losses suffered by the farmers over the years,” he said.

Mr. Mani said it was solely the government procurement which has ensured the existence of the remaining stretches of paddy fields in the State. “Paddy fields cannot be protected by bringing about laws and putting farmers in jails. We have enough laws to protect paddy fields. However, that will not be sufficient to ensure that the fields do not disappear,” he said.