Telangana: Paddy farmer in advantage, ready to choose buyers for his produce

The involvement of private traders is providing a much-needed alternative for farmers, ensuring they can sell their produce without significant delays.

Hyderabad: Paddy farmers in Telangana are finding themselves in a favourable position as they gain more control over choosing buyers for their produce. This shift comes amid ongoing challenges with the Civil Supplies Department’s strict moisture content requirements, which have led many farmers to seek alternative buyers. Farmers have so far been facing challenges with the Civil Supplies Department’s strict moisture content requirements for paddy purchases. The department insists on a maximum permissible moisture level of 17 per cent, leading to the rejection of paddy with higher moisture content at purchase centres.

Due to ongoing rains, farmers are struggling to dry their paddy to meet the required moisture levels. This process typically takes at least a week, which many farmers cannot afford to wait for. As a result, those in a hurry to sell their produce are turning to private traders who accept paddy with moisture content as high as 25 percent in some cases.

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The private traders take on the responsibility of drying the paddy, relieving farmers of the burden of processing. The recent relaxation in rice export curbs has further encouraged traders to reach out to farmers, with many ready to buffer the stocks. This shift highlights the pressing need for more flexible policies from the Civil Supplies Department to accommodate the realities faced by farmers, especially during the rainy season.

The involvement of private traders is providing a much-needed alternative for farmers, ensuring they can sell their produce without significant delays. The grade A paddy is expected to command more than the minimum support price tagged with the incentive bonus of Rs 500 per ton.

With over 60.39 lakh acres of area under paddy, the state’s paddy production during Kharif is projected to touch 145.28 lakh metric tonnes, with grade A paddy grown on 36.80 lakh acres, expected to yield around 88.09 lakh tonnes. The Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation has ambitious plans to procure up to 91.28 lakh tonnes of paddy. This target, however, presents a significant challenge due to the aggressive competition from private traders. These traders are actively reaching out to farmers, offering better prices and terms, which makes the procurement task for the Civil Supplies Corporation even tougher.

The competitive buying option ensured by the private traders, helped in providing farmers with additional advantage and potentially better financial returns.