Paddy cultivators in Assam never had it so good until this time. On January 8, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma nudged six procurement agencies, including Food Corporation of India (FCI), to procure at least 10 lakh metric tonnes of paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹ 1,940 per quintal from farmers. This has brought a new ray of hope for many.
All this while, middlemen were ruling the roost in procuring paddy from these farmers thereby depriving them of a fair price. The State Government’s move was aimed at erasing hegemony of middlemen and giving farmers a ‘major financial relief’ while making agriculture much more profitable. The impact is there at the ground.
About 70 km east of Assam’s capital city of Guwahati is Jagi Bhakatgaon in Morigaon district, proclaimed by many as the rice bowl of Assam. The paddy procurement centre (PPC) here is buzzing with farmers and their chatters. An excited Dharanidhar Das, secretary of Morigaon DRMC (District Regulated Market Committee) under Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board (ASAMB), says, “In our PPCs even women farmers register their names. We never had it so good.”
“It is my first time ever in a PPC. Along with me, five women farmers sold their produce at this PPC. This time the Government set an MSP of ₹ 1,940 per quintal. Previously, I sold my produce in the open market at a much lower price. This time, I got ₹ 75,000 more, says Premoda Deuri of Bondhai Gaon of the district.
Romini Hazarika, a farmer of Borbheti village sold 90 quintals of paddy at the same PPC. He, too, had his maiden experience of a PPC as a seller.
“I came to know about the MSP from a Gaon Panchayat member. The gaon panchayat held meetings in villages under Jagi Bhakatgaon area in January. We are happy and satisfied,” says Hazarika.
Binanda Rajbongshi of Niz Madartola village under Kamalpur Development Block in Kamrup district sold paddy to the FCI at MSP which is nearly 20% higher than the price he previously used to get in the open market. Sushil Das, a cultivator of Sutargaon village in Muktapur of Kamrup district, sold 50 quintals of his paddy at Rangia FCI sub centre in February.
Under the direction of the Chief Minister, a massive awareness drive about paddy procurement at MSP was carried out in January by respective district administrations in rural areas across the State. This brought in more farmers to PPCs across Assam.
In Darrang district, too, enthusiasm among paddy farmers is visible. “Thus far, I have sold 138 quintals of paddy at the Mangaldai PPC of Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (AFCSCL). I got ₹ 770 per quintal more than what I got in the open market last year”, says Nayan Kalita of Kalgiri village, 25 kilometres west of the Darrang district headquarter of Mangaldai.
“We are expecting more farmers at our PPC. Once these happy farmers report better prices, more of them will come,” says Bipul Saikia, manager of the Mangaldai PPC.
The success of procurement at MSP is changing the attitude of farmers who had given up on paddy cultivation. One of them being Hiranya Kakati of Gelaidingi village, two kilometres west of Mangaldai town.
“My family has been engaged with paddy cultivation since ages. I had thought of moving away from it after suffering losses because of middlemen. Now, I have changed my decision. I would rather increase the cultivated area. This year I sold 75 quintals of Ranjit variety of paddy at MSP at the Mangaldai PPC”, he says.
