Make 22% moisture condition permanent: TN farmers
As Tamil Nadu receives uncertain rainfall, the moisture condition expected by the Union government has become uncertain. So the farmers have been demanding to relax the moisture condition from 17 per cent to 22 per cent.
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TIRUCHY: Farmers' union attached to AITUC on Friday demanded that the government give a permanent order to fix 22 per cent moisture condition for the paddy, which would be helpful to all across the Delta region.
According to the AITUC State General Secretary C Chandrakumar, the Tamil Nadu government has been procuring paddy directly from the farmers through TNCSC since 1975, but in 2003, the union government, which released a new procurement policy, prevented the state government from procuring paddy, and this made TNCSC just an agency for procurement.
As Tamil Nadu receives uncertain rainfall, the moisture condition expected by the Union government has become uncertain. So the farmers have been demanding to relax the moisture condition from 17 per cent to 22 per cent.
In a few uncertain periods, the Tamil Nadu government procured paddy with 24 per cent moisture condition, but currently, as per the new procurement policy, the TNCSC is in a dilemma to procure paddy with a higher moisture condition.
“We demand the union government to issue a permanent order for procuring paddy with 22 per cent moisture condition as the 17 percent moisture condition is not possible at any means,” Chandrakumar said and added that the union government should allow the state governments to fix the moisture level.