TIRUCHY: Since there are several issues in procurement in the DPCs across the Delta region, the farmers were left in this situation but opted for private parties, who even reach out to their fields and procure paddy stocks without any restrictions, but with less amount than the usual MSP.

The harvest of paddy has been affected across the State due to a series of issues, including water shortage; farmers from the Delta region opted to cultivate drought-resistant, high-yield paddy varieties.

The farmers said that the government-run DPCs used to procure paddy with 17 per cent moisture content; the staff demanded a bribe of Rs 50 per chippom (40 kg) bag of paddy and reduced the paddy in each bag by up to two kg.

Apart from this, the DPC staff procure paddy based on 60 bags per acre, and so the farmers who avail the yield with more than 60 bags per acre are denied, and they are asked to wait for their next turn.

“But the private parties never stick to any such norms. The private parties even reach out to the fields of the farmers and procure them. They never measure the moisture content of the paddy, and so, instead of losing the entire harvest, we entertain the private parties,” said AKR Ravichandar, president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association.

He said that the private players never restrict any limit in procurement. “We fill them in the lorry and take the weight in the weighing machines. The main factor is that the private players pay the money instantly,” he said.

However, the farmers said that the private parties procure Rs 100 less than the actual MSP.

“Though the amount is less, we opt for less risk and no loss. It is better to get some gain than losing the entire crop,” Ravichandar added.