Delta farmers seek better procurement policies for samba season

TIRUCHY: Despite the State government announcing that the procurement process is almost nearing an end for kuruvai crops, the farmers in the Delta region have expressed that they have faced severe bitter lessons.

They have urged the government to plan well for samba cultivation, which has already commenced and ensure that the sorry experiences of kuruvai procurement are not repeated. The procurement issues for kuruvai must be taken seriously and sorted out for the benefit of the farmers.

Farmers put forth issues like the absence of adequate infrastructural facilities and persistent irregularities by the employees, which had led to paddy piling up in open areas and resulting in damage. They also pointed out the decay of the crops due to the unseasonal rainfall, which added to their woes.

Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC), has been nominated as the agency to procure paddy in the state under the decentralised procurement system on behalf of Food Corporation of India (FCI). Around 2,500 were opened across the state for the kuruvai procurement, but still, they failed to ensure hassle-free procurement. The farmers claim that there were surprise raids by the special teams, but the earlier situation continues at the centres.

Farmers claimed that the time had almost arrived for a tripartite meeting, as the samba harvest would commence at the end of November. They demanded to organise the meeting at least by November 15 so that they can put forth their grievances to be addressed.

They also said that there would be a shortage of gunny bags for samba procurement and urged the government to ready them in advance.

The samba cultivation is at its peak across the Delta region. Despite there being a damaged standing samba crop due to the heavy rains, the farmers have shown interest in going ahead with the cultivation, anticipating a bumper harvest on par with kuruvai.

Though there is an affirmation that the samba cultivation would be 10.50 lakh acres across the region, with the maximum cultivation of 3.62 lakh acres in Tiruvarur and 3.36 lakh acres in Thanjavur, the farmers are waiting for the State government to officially announce the samba target and the samba procurement policy.

“There was a bitter experience during the kuruvai procurement this year, and the state government should fix the samba target, procurement policy and organise an interaction meeting with the local officials and farmers so that there would be suggestions for remedy from every quarter,” said Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

He noted that the overall procurement for the KMS (Kharif Marketing Season) year 2024-25, which covered multiple crop patterns including kuruvai, samba, thalady and kodai, was 49.32 lakh MT, whereas the state of Chhattisgarh, which has just one crop, had procured 1.49 crore MT during the KMS year and that too in just 45 days.

“We appeal to the state government to make the officials from Tamil Nadu pay a visit to Chhattisgarh and study the process of intensive procurement in that state,” he said.

While the farmers attributed vehicle shortage as the major flaw during the kuruvai procurement. “The transportation tender was awarded to a single person who has offered subcontracts. These sub-contractors have just 50 per cent lorries than the actual numbers of vehicles mentioned in the tender, and this resulted in the accumulation of paddy in every DPC. For instance, only 120 lorries are operating in the Nagapattinam district. Still, they actually mentioned in the tender that they have 400 lorries,” said Cauvery V Dhanapalan, General Secretary of Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

Dhanapalan claimed that the State government has to concentrate on the transportation of paddy, otherwise the farmers will feel the pinch.

Suggesting a solution, Vimalanathan appealed to the government to use the farmers' vehicles.

“If their vehicles, including tractors, are used for the transportation of the paddy, there won’t be any delay either. The government can pay the transportation amount to the farmers who would be happy to work,” Vimalnathan said.

Meanwhile, Vimalnathan demanded a tripartite meeting for samba procurement in which the farmers can explain the bitter experiences during the kuruvai procurement and provide suggestions for the betterment of the next harvest.

“The elected members are rather busy with the upcoming elections, but the officials in the rank of secretaries can organise a meeting with the participation of farmers. The officials from the Tangedco must be present during such meetings, as the samba cultivation is dependent on groundwater as well. Their presence can ensure the requirement for the uninterrupted power supply,” he said.

The farmers also appealed to the government that they do not want compensation for the crop damage, but a solution for the prevention of crop damage.

“The procurement policy should be announced right before the harvest and as soon as the cultivation commences, and this would avoid damages remarkably,” said Vimalnathan.