Raipur: Chhattisgarh farmers on Thursday protested against the state government's decision to buy paddy from them on December 1 saying that it's too late for the selling of the crops.
According to the farmers, if the crop is not sold in time, they will be left in a lurch without any money to celebrate Diwali. They also will not be able to pay their loans and guarding the crop will be another cause of worry.
The farmers even said the government should buy paddy now and can pay them later. ETV Bharat spoke to the farmers of the state to understand in-depth the issues they would face if the government does not defer from its decision.
With Deepawali fast approaching the pockets of the farmers are empty and they say that if the paddy is not sold in time, they will have no money to celebrate it.
Sagar Sahu a farmer from Bemetra, says that if paddy had been purchased, his Diwali would have been celebrated with joy. The delay in selling the crops and getting money has faded all the enthusiasm of the festival for his family and him.
Farmer Yogendra says that the festival of Diwali is around the corner, but he does not have the money to celebrate the festival.
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He added that he has about 40 acres of land in Dharsinwa and Baloda Bazar, in which he has cultivated paddy. He said that today the government is procuring cow dung, but is dilly-dallying the purchase of paddy from farmers, which is causing them a lot of suffering.
Sonber, another farmer says that even if the government gives money for the paddy in December, it should start buying it from now on, so that farmers do not have trouble keeping and maintaining paddy.
Paddy sold at lower price to pay debt
Yogendra said that since he to pay some liability he sold paddy at Rs 1400 rupees per quintal recently to the paddy merchant, while the government is talking about buying it at Rs. 2500 per quintal.
Rupanlal, a farmer from Naya Raipur Parsoda, told that his joint family has 50 acres of land. There are about 25 quintals of paddy per acre. Due to late procurement of paddy, there is a shortage of money, due to which they are forced to sell paddy to moneylenders at a lower price.
Storage a problem
Parasnath Sahu, a resident of Bhilai, Raipur, said that harvesting of paddy has started in the state, but the government is late in taking the decision regarding the purchase of paddy, due to which farmers will face problems of storing the products and arranging for sacks.
Parasnath said that if the government is not able to pay for paddy now, then it is fine, but still, it must start buying paddy as soon as possible. Otherwise the farmers will for certain lose 100 rupees per quintal. Parasnath has produced around 20 quintals of paddy per acre. After selling 15 quintals to the government, the remaining paddy is sold in the open market for which he does not get a fair price.
Security and concerns of theft
Not only this, the farmers are guarding the produce as they do not have proper storage facilities to store the paddy for one month. Last year too, the farmers were very upset during the paddy purchase. Paddy procurement is delayed this year too. With a month remaining for the government's buying of paddy, the procedure is still blurry causing even more anxiety among the farmers.
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Ramesh Sahu, a farmer from Bemetara, told ETV Bharat that the crop has been harvested. Sometimes it rains out of season due to which paddy gets spoilt. For this reason, the government should purchase paddy in November itself. Only then will the farmers get relief.
He told that after harvesting paddy, farmers are worried about where to store it. The farmers are already in distress due to Corona. Now the government is procuring paddy late, due to which the farmers have become financially weak.
Guarding whole night to protect crops
Premu Vishwakarma, a farmer of Mahasamund, said that he has about two and a half acres of field in which paddy is cultivated. Out of this, about 2 acres of paddy has already been harvested. They do not have enough arrangements to store them. Prem Vishwakarma told that after harvesting the paddy is kept in the field. He has to be guarded. One has to live day and night on the farm itself. If you leave the barn unguarded, then there is a fear of theft of the produce. Even if the crop is purchased from November 15 instead of November 1, then also it will bring great relief to the farmers.
Moisture causes damage
Dealy in buying will also result in the paddy losing the moisture. Today paddy has around 16-17% moisture. After a month, this moisture will remain around 12 -13 per cent when the paddy is dry, due to which they will have to bear a loss of 2-3 kg per quintal.
No one understands the plight of the farmers
A farmer from Mahasamund, Jugnu Chandrakar says that today there is no one who understands his suffering. Paddy will be purchased from December 1, so we will have to keep paddy in the field for a month. After this, the date for which the token will be received will take extra time till that day. Due to this, they will have to face a lot of trouble. Jugnu has demanded from the Agriculture Minister that the government should start purchasing paddy in November itself, so that we can celebrate the Deepawali festival by selling the paddy. He will also be able to pay the money to labourers. Apart from this, he would be able to repay the loan that he had taken from the moneylenders for the crop.
