Hardly 10 days are left for the paddy harvest to begin in Upper Kuttanad, and farmers here are an unhappy lot. They allege ‘criminal negligence’ by the government towards their grievances.
The peasants, under the aegis of the Upper Kuttanad Nelkarshaka Samiti (UKNS), staged a march and dharna before the Revenue Divisional Office at Thiruvalla two days ago demanding immediate intervention of the Chief Minister to address the problems of the paddy sector.
Many small- and medium-scale farmers launch cultivation with seed money borrowed from local moneylenders or private financial institutions. They have to repay the amount immediately after the harvest. Though the government has been procuring paddy through the Civil Supplies Corporation, procurement price is always delayed, they say. Natural calamities and untimely summer rains too play spoilsport. Sam Eapen, UKNS president, says peasants in this part of the State continue paddy cultivation against all odds, as it is part of their rustic life.
Mr. Eapen says the farming community is unhappy with the government announcement that the procurement price will be disbursed in two instalments this year.
The Union government has fixed a floor price of Rs.13.60 a kg of paddy and this, coupled with the State’s share of Rs.5.40 a kg, put the procurement price at Rs.19 a kg last year. But, the government now says that the Central share of Rs.13.6 a kg will be distributed in the first phase and the farmers will have to wait for the State’s share, says Mr. Eapen who is also the panchayat president of Peringara.
Handling charge
The farmers were expecting an increase of at least a rupee or two on the procurement price this year and the government decision to give only Rs.13.60 a kg at the time of procurement has come as a shock to them.
