TIRUCHY: With the onset of the samba harvest in January, and the delay in convening the pre-procurement meeting and releasing the samba procurement policy, the farmers from the Delta region urged the government to decide on the meeting headed by the Chief Secretary of State to ensure their demands are placed before the authorities concerned across departments.
With the bitter experience having unfolded during the Kuruvai procurement this year, a huge loss was incurred due to the damage of the harvested paddy accumulated at the Direct Procurement Centres amid heavy monsoon rainfall. The farmers thus sounded an alarm about a similar situation in relation to Samba procurement, and thus, the meeting becomes more vital as it will give a clear picture before the release of the procurement policy.
Pointing out that the samba cultivation, despite being hindered by the monsoon rains and the fury of cyclone Ditwah, could cross at least 10.50 lakh acre across the Delta region with 3.62 lakh and 3.40 lakh in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur respectively, they said as the early samba is set for harvest from the first week of January, the government has to consult with farmers and release the samba procurement policy at the earliest.
"During the kuruvai procurement, the major obstacle was the shortage of vehicles, gunny bags and manpower. We also found that the transport contract was awarded to a single person who had opted for subcontract; however, the farmers were at the receiving end, with a huge stock of harvested kuruvai accumulated before every DPC. Thus, we demand a pre-samba procurement meeting so that we can put forth our suggestions, which would solve the issues to a certain extent," said Cauvery V Dhanapalan, General Secretary, Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.
Meanwhile, the secretary of Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, pointed out that States like Karnataka, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have mandated yearly pre-procurement meetings. “But in Tamil Nadu, no such meeting has been held since 2022. This has led to poor planning, and the farmers bore the brunt of it," Vimalnathan lamented.
He appealed to organise a meeting in Thanjavur, chaired by the Chief Secretary, which would enable the farmers to air their demands.
“As hardly a few weeks are left for the samba procurement, the government should convene the meeting at the earliest and announce the procurement policy and samba incentive soon," Vimalnathan stressed.