News Analysis India

Tag: Paddy

  • Chhattisgarh: Abujhmad farmers sell paddy at MSP for first time

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR:  The ‘Masahati’ survey (a survey of un-surveyed villages) brings joy to the tribal residents of Abujhmad (meaning unfamiliar land) in Narayanpur district, south Chhattisgarh, as for the first time over 2,200 farmers sold their paddy at the minimum support price during the ongoing procurement by the state government for Kharif marketing year 2022-23.

    The area of Abujhmad, spread over 4000 sq. km, covers the region of Narayanpur, Bijapur, Dantewada and remains surrounded by hilly mountainous even inhospitable terrain with densely forested landscape, having remained isolated for decades. The survey of the land was not carried out since independence owing to which the tribal inhabitants were not just deprived of government welfare schemes but faced many problems.

    The preliminary exercise on ‘Masahati’ survey in recent years now demolishing the myths associated with the dreadful little-known Abujhmad, the region where a strong belief prevailed for decades of being controlled by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and purportedly converted into their bastion, with no reach of any civil administration.

    There are over 275 villages reported in the insurgency-hit Abujhmad, some 350 km south of Raipur, where the process of the survey was not done and so the state government didn’t have any records of these habitations. The state cabinet in 2019 took a decision to provide over 50 thousand tribal people living in these villages with Masahati khasra on the basis of preliminary records to get ‘patta’ (land title deed) as land ownership. 

    “We have initiated concrete action for the people living in Abujhmad and the positive results are now visible at the ground-level’’, said CM Bhupesh Baghel. “246 villages were notified for the ‘Masahati survey’ of the Narayanpur district by the revenue department. So far 110 villages have been successfully completed. Masahati khasra has been distributed to more than 7700 residents in the region”, said the officials in Narayanpur district.

    With no land-related documents owing to a lack of survey earlier, many farmers neither could access the benefits of the government schemes nor secure agriculture loans from banks. For the first time after the farmers got the ownership rights, the Abujhmad farmers in Narayanpur have begun selling their paddy, the officials added. The government believes that around 10 thousand farmers will soon get ownership of over 50 thousand hectares of land in Abujhmad.

    “After getting masahati khasra, the farmers are selling their paddy for the first time at the support price. Earlier we were compelled to give away our produce to middlemen at less than half the price. I sold 32 quintals of paddy this year”, said Pappu Potai, a farmer of Kandadi village in Narayanpur. The farmers of Abujhmad are now also getting solar dual pumps for irrigation purposes, bank loans, horticulture tool kits, and even caste certificates. 

    RAIPUR:  The ‘Masahati’ survey (a survey of un-surveyed villages) brings joy to the tribal residents of Abujhmad (meaning unfamiliar land) in Narayanpur district, south Chhattisgarh, as for the first time over 2,200 farmers sold their paddy at the minimum support price during the ongoing procurement by the state government for Kharif marketing year 2022-23.

    The area of Abujhmad, spread over 4000 sq. km, covers the region of Narayanpur, Bijapur, Dantewada and remains surrounded by hilly mountainous even inhospitable terrain with densely forested landscape, having remained isolated for decades. The survey of the land was not carried out since independence owing to which the tribal inhabitants were not just deprived of government welfare schemes but faced many problems.

    The preliminary exercise on ‘Masahati’ survey in recent years now demolishing the myths associated with the dreadful little-known Abujhmad, the region where a strong belief prevailed for decades of being controlled by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and purportedly converted into their bastion, with no reach of any civil administration.

    There are over 275 villages reported in the insurgency-hit Abujhmad, some 350 km south of Raipur, where the process of the survey was not done and so the state government didn’t have any records of these habitations. The state cabinet in 2019 took a decision to provide over 50 thousand tribal people living in these villages with Masahati khasra on the basis of preliminary records to get ‘patta’ (land title deed) as land ownership. 

    “We have initiated concrete action for the people living in Abujhmad and the positive results are now visible at the ground-level’’, said CM Bhupesh Baghel. “246 villages were notified for the ‘Masahati survey’ of the Narayanpur district by the revenue department. So far 110 villages have been successfully completed. Masahati khasra has been distributed to more than 7700 residents in the region”, said the officials in Narayanpur district.

    With no land-related documents owing to a lack of survey earlier, many farmers neither could access the benefits of the government schemes nor secure agriculture loans from banks. For the first time after the farmers got the ownership rights, the Abujhmad farmers in Narayanpur have begun selling their paddy, the officials added. The government believes that around 10 thousand farmers will soon get ownership of over 50 thousand hectares of land in Abujhmad.

    “After getting masahati khasra, the farmers are selling their paddy for the first time at the support price. Earlier we were compelled to give away our produce to middlemen at less than half the price. I sold 32 quintals of paddy this year”, said Pappu Potai, a farmer of Kandadi village in Narayanpur. The farmers of Abujhmad are now also getting solar dual pumps for irrigation purposes, bank loans, horticulture tool kits, and even caste certificates. 

  • Dwarf disease: SAD seeks Rs 20,000 per acre as compensation for paddy growers

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday sought a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for paddy growers whose fields had been infested with dwarf disease.

    In a statement here, former minister and Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema said in many districts of Punjab, the dwarf disease had spread across 20 to 25 per cent of fields.

    It was likely to result in a drop in paddy yield by at least 10 quintals per acre, he said adding, “The government must step in and compensate farmers for the loss.

    ” “A state-wide survey should also be conducted to ascertain the amount of damage the deadly dwarf virus has done on the paddy crop”, he said adding, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts were most affected by the dwarf disease.

    Notably, a latest survey of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) had observed stunted plants in rice and basmati fields in the state due to the dwarf disease.

    In some fields, due to the severe attack of the dwarf virus, some plants were dead and some were stunted with height remaining one-third from half in comparison to the normal plants, the PAU had said.

    The PAU had found southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a viral disease, behind the stunting of paddy plants in many parts of the state.

    It is the first time that SRBSDV, which was first reported in 2001 from Southern China, had been detected in Punjab.

    The SAD leader Cheema said at some places the dwarf disease had completely overtaken the paddy fields as in the case of Nurpurbedi in Rupnagar district where farmers had ploughed standing paddy fields.

    “Huge losses due to dwarf disease will be a catastrophe for farmers who are still coming to terms with a loss of wheat yields to a sudden increase in temperatures in March this year as well as subsequent losses sustained in sowing ‘moong’ crop which was not procured despite promises made by the chief minister”, said Cheema.

    Asserting that this could be the proverbial last straw for many farmers who were already under debt, Cheema asked the chief minister to intervene immediately and announce a comprehensive compensation package for the affected farmers.

    CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday sought a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for paddy growers whose fields had been infested with dwarf disease.

    In a statement here, former minister and Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema said in many districts of Punjab, the dwarf disease had spread across 20 to 25 per cent of fields.

    It was likely to result in a drop in paddy yield by at least 10 quintals per acre, he said adding, “The government must step in and compensate farmers for the loss.

    ” “A state-wide survey should also be conducted to ascertain the amount of damage the deadly dwarf virus has done on the paddy crop”, he said adding, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts were most affected by the dwarf disease.

    Notably, a latest survey of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) had observed stunted plants in rice and basmati fields in the state due to the dwarf disease.

    In some fields, due to the severe attack of the dwarf virus, some plants were dead and some were stunted with height remaining one-third from half in comparison to the normal plants, the PAU had said.

    The PAU had found southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a viral disease, behind the stunting of paddy plants in many parts of the state.

    It is the first time that SRBSDV, which was first reported in 2001 from Southern China, had been detected in Punjab.

    The SAD leader Cheema said at some places the dwarf disease had completely overtaken the paddy fields as in the case of Nurpurbedi in Rupnagar district where farmers had ploughed standing paddy fields.

    “Huge losses due to dwarf disease will be a catastrophe for farmers who are still coming to terms with a loss of wheat yields to a sudden increase in temperatures in March this year as well as subsequent losses sustained in sowing ‘moong’ crop which was not procured despite promises made by the chief minister”, said Cheema.

    Asserting that this could be the proverbial last straw for many farmers who were already under debt, Cheema asked the chief minister to intervene immediately and announce a comprehensive compensation package for the affected farmers.

  • Concerns loom for Chhattisgarh government as big spike expected in paddy production

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: With an increase of 48,000 hectares this year in the area over which paddy is grown, leading to augmented production during the current kharif season, the Chhattisgarh government has increased the procurement limit further from last year’s 92 to 105 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) as a new target this year.

    The state cabinet sub-committee while enhancing the upper procurement limit announced that the process would be started from December 1. 

    During the last kharif season, the state had to struggle to make use of the procured paddy after the Food Corporation of India (FCI) lifted its given quota, leaving 20.5 LMT as surplus, following which the state cabinet took a crucial decision to auction the excess. But the e-auctioning couldn’t fetch the expected results as not many firms appeared keen to buy paddy through online bidding at the given rates.

    This year again, the sub-committee was left with little choice as Chhattisgarh is set to reap a bumper harvest.

    Going by the major election pledges of the Congress, the Baghel government continues its focus on farmers with the launch of the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana under which the farmers are getting their paddy minimum support price (MSP) amount of Rs 2500 directly in their bank accounts from 2019.

    With the high assured MSP now, many farmers are sowing paddy.

    Officials of the agriculture department said that this year there is an addition of around 2.5 lakh farmers who got themselves registered for sale of their paddy at various state-owned mandis and societies.

    “With an addition of 48000 hectares of net sown area, it is estimated that the overall paddy production might touch 140 LMT this year,” said an official.

    However, what further aggravates the apprehensions of the Chhattisgarh government is the Centre’s recent decision to lift only ‘arwa’ rice (61 LMT through the FCI) but not ‘usna’ rice for the central pool.

    “We have urged the Centre to revise the decision and also consider ‘usna’ rice, otherwise it would lead to problems for our state,” said Amarjeet Bhagat, the food minister.

    The Chhattisgarh government has been attempting to encourage farmers to opt for crops other than paddy. For this, they have been offered an input subsidy of Rs 10000 per acre for cultivating crops identified by the government other than paddy from the 2021-22 kharif season.

    However, the state witnessed a significant increase in the cultivation area of paddy by over 6 percent. Paddy production is expected to rise by over 10 percent this year.

    Chhattisgarh is known as the rice bowl of the country, being one of the largest producers.

  • Punjab’s problem of ‘plenty’ paddy

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: A confrontation is brewing in Punjab after the Centre, for the first time, capped paddy procurement from the state at 170 lakh metric tonnes. The Centre has also made it clear that it will not bear any responsibility for extra paddy arriving at the grain markets. The Centre has accused Punjab of procuring excess grain than what it produces and passing it to the Centre to avail of the MSP. But the state is pushing for a revised estimate of 190 lakh tonnes.

    To check illegal flow of paddy, the state government has seized 10,000 bags of paddy and 5,000 bags of rice (7,260 quintals) which have come in the last few days from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal on bogus bills so that it could be procured at MSP. The state government has formed around 150 teams to stop the illegal flow besides sealing the borders at 94 points.

    The Punjab Police has so far registered eight cases against 16 people for attempting to sell their produce in the state since the paddy procurement began from October 3. Additional DGP V Neeraja has been deputed to supervise the inter-state ‘nakas’ to prevent the unauthorised food grains and paddy from entering the state. Paddy from other states makes its way to Punjab every year and is sold at MSP.

    Sources said traders buy paddy from UP, Bihar, MP and West Bengal. Including transport cost, it costs them around `1,200 per quintal and is sold in Punjab on the MSP at Rs 1,960 per quintal. A senior officer in Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Department alleged that big fish, including some MLAs of both ruling and opposition parties are involved in the illegal trade.

    Punjab farmers may have to bear the brunt as their crop will not be picked for the central pool at MSP rates. As already 17.68 lakh MT of paddy has reached the various grain markets across the state.Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu said that the agriculture department has informed the Centre that it expects a bumper crop this year too and that the state has sent revised estimates of 190 lakh-tonne paddy. He also urged farmers to support the government in checking illegal flow of paddy. 

    The contentious part is the Centre’s directive to Punjab to put a cap on per-acre yield of paddy. Farmers are strongly against the move. Under Central norms calling for integrating land records with grain procurement will be implemented for the first time in the state. Once the per-acre yield is fixed, the open-ended procurement policy of the Centre will come to an end under which the government buys every grain of wheat and rice brought by farmers.

  • No coffee or sandwich, these Cafeterias set up by Assam agriculture dept have a unique purpose

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: This is not an urban cafeteria where one chooses one’s coffee and sandwich.

    The Assam agriculture department is trying to promote the cultivation of the best varieties of paddy under a newly-launched programme called ‘Rice Varietal Cafeteria’. It is a part of Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART).

    Following field visits, officials of the agriculture department, APART and Agricultural Technology Management Agency will support farmers under the programme. They are provided with seeds of 10-12 paddy varieties. The department tries to find out which variety gives a good harvest and in which region followed by an analysis of its qualities.

    The cafeterias established in four ADO circles of Golaghat district are helping farmers choose the best variety of paddy for cultivation. District Agricultural Officer Nabin Ch Bora inaugurated the cafeterias at Borchapori under Morongi ADO circle and Betoni Pathar under Sarupathar ADO circle on Friday.

    The beneficiaries were assisted with paddy varieties such as Ranjit Sub 1, Swarna Sub 1, Kola Joha, Rongdoi, Kaal Jeera Joha, Bor Dhan, Nahar Sali, Bokul Bora, Bahadur, Black Rice, CR 501, Keteki Joha, Bokul Joha, Kunkuni Joha, Black Rice, Bora, Sokuwa and Goya.

    According to official sources, the Rice Varietal Cafeteria is being implemented to test the characteristics, performance, resistance, production yield of different varieties of paddy – all planted under the same conditions on a trial basis.

    The entire exercise – from seed-sowing to harvesting – is closely monitored by the officials of agriculture department, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), APART and ATMA, Golaghat besides seed dealers, Assam State Seed Certification Agency, farmers and rice millers.

    “The stakeholders select the best varieties of rice based on crop characteristics, yield and yield-related parameters such as plant height, duration-in-days, disease resistance, pest resistance, effective tillers, grain type, grain colour etc,” the sources said.

    The sources also said that following the analysis of crop, the department would suggest the farmers which varieties they should cultivate in different ADO circles.

    “The farmers can also self-analyse and then decide what they should go for. The whole idea is to promote a region’s best paddy varieties,” the sources added.

  • CM Bhupesh could not meet Union Food Minister Goyal

    The proposed meeting of state and central government food officers could not be held in Delhi on Tuesday on the issue of paddy. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel could not even meet Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal. Because of this, CM went directly from there to Assam after meeting party leaders in Delhi.

    According to officials, the Rajiv Gandhi justice plan of the Chhattisgarh government was to be discussed in this meeting proposed on Tuesday. The reason is that the central government is believing that through this scheme, the state government is giving bonus to the farmers for paddy. For this reason, the central government has cut the quota of rice taken from the state.

    Chief Minister Baghel has already had a meeting with Union Minister Goel on February 5 in this matter. It was in this meeting that the schedule of the meeting to be held on February 16 was decided. According to departmental sources, the meeting between the central and state government officials was already deferred. Because of this, the state officials did not go to Delhi on Tuesday.
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  • Rice Miller of Durg is now raising paddy in Bemetara and Kawardha districts

    Rice millers of Durg district have taken up paddy from Bemetara and Kawardha districts. Paddy is bought in plastic sack. Custom milling of paddy purchased in plastic sack is to be done as per the instructions of the government. Rice Miller of Durg district will mingle the said paddy.

    After the end of paddy purchase at the support price, the concern of the administration has increased with regard to the custom milling of paddy purchased. About 41 lakh quintal of paddy has been purchased in Durg district itself. Out of this, about 17 lakh quintals of paddy are still kept in procurement centers. The state government has instructed for the first milling of paddy purchased in plastic bags.

    At the same time, rice mills in Durg district have been directed to do custom milling of paddy purchased in plastic bags in Kawardha and Bemetara districts besides Durg. Due to this, rice millers of the district have to bear paddy of the said district besides the fort. Food controller CP Dipankar said that rice millers of the district have lifted 96 thousand 771 quintals from Bemetra district and 30 thousand 830 quintals of paddy from Kawardha district.

  • Four lakh 79 thousand 562 metric tonnes of paddy purchased in Raipur district

    In the state of Chhattisgarh, the graph of record of paddy purchase on support price is increasing daily. At the same time, there is better purchase in Raipur district. Looking at the figures, four lakh 79 thousand 562 metric tonnes of paddy have been purchased in Raipur district. Similarly, 86 lakh 50 thousand 164 metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased in the state. So far, 19 lakh 83 thousand 658 farmers of the state have sold paddy at the support price. A DO of 28 lakh 85 thousand 825 metric tons of paddy has been issued to the millers for custom milling, for which 26 lakh six thousand 203 metric tons of paddy has been taken up so far.

    So far, 14 thousand 960 crore rupees have been paid online to the farmers of the state. In the Kharif year 2020-21, one lakh 24 thousand 472 metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased in Bastar district of the state till 22 January 2021. Similarly, 56 thousand 420 MT in Bijapur district, 13 thousand 665 MT in Dantewada district, two lakh 72 thousand 844 MT in Kanker district, one lakh 30 thousand 120 MT in Kondagaon district, 17 thousand 665 MT in Narayanpur district , 34 thousand 672 MT in Sukma district, 4 lakh 37 thousand 457 MT in Bilaspur district, 67 thousand 56 MT in Gorela-Pendra-Marwahi, seven lakh 81 thousand 941 MT in Janjgir-Champa district, one in Korba district Lakh 19 thousand 472 MT, 3 lakh 50 thousand 357 MT have been purchased in Mungeli district.

  • Due to shortage of gunny bags, farmers are unable to sell paddy

    Paddy purchase is now 8 days left, but the problem of gunny still continues in the paddy collection centers. Hundreds of farmers have not sold paddy yet. Farmers are not able to sell paddy in many committees due to lack of gunny bags. The tare given by the millers to the committees is so bad that farmers are not able to use it. The farmers of Belsodha say that they are selling paddy after sewing to sell their paddy by sorting it in torn old gunny bags. Some farmers are buying paddy from the market to sell paddy. Farmers told that at a cost of Rs. 35, farmers are buying gunny bags from the market, in lieu of which farmers are being given a price of Rs. Nearly two dozen farmers who reached the Belsodha Paddy Collecting Center have informed that they have been circling the management of the committee since morning till now due to the gunny bags, but the token selling the paddy is not cut.

  • Paddy procurement boom in Balodabazar district

    With the ongoing paddy purchase in the district, their payment has increased significantly. About 3 lakh 82 thousand metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased in the district. The price of paddy purchased is about 714 crores. More than one lakh 20 thousand farmers have sold paddy at their nearest procurement centers on support price, out of which 98.64 percent farmers have been paid in full. Only 1.36 percent of the farmers’ payment is left due to technical reasons, which is 2114. The technical shortcomings will also be paid soon. It is worth mentioning that as per the instructions of the state government, procurement of paddy has started in the district from December 1, which will run till January 31. This year 1 lakh 65 thousand 218 farmers have registered to sell their paddy. An estimated target of procuring 6 lakh 86 thousand metric tonnes of paddy from them has been set. District Food Officer Chitrakant Dhruv said that under Bhatbhera Cooperative Bank, 16842 metric tons of paddy from 5979 farmers, 18142 metric tons from 5618 farmers of Hathband, 339514 metric tons from 10701 farmers of Balodabazar, 18975 metric from 5773 farmers of Tundra. Tonnes, 23651 metric tonnes from 8601 farmers of Sarsivan, and 109819 metric tonnes of paddy have been purchased from 4115 farmers of Palari. In Lavan Bank branch, 25537 metric tons from 8330 farmers, 41059 metric tons from 13194 farmers of Bhatgaon, 15102 metric tons from 5225 farmers of Rohansi, 23265 metric tons from 7237 farmers of Kodwa, 24949 metric tons from 7832 farmers of Bhatapara, 4011 of Kosmandi 10955 metric tons from farmers, 31265 metric tons from 9396 farmers of Simga, 25049 metric tons from 7272 farmers in Nipania, 26700 metric tons from 7872 farmers in Kasdol, 23364 metric tons from 5448 farmers in Baya and 126337 metric tons from 4114 farmers of Watgan Paddy has been purchased.