Tamil Nadu: Modern rice mills in four districts to help tackle paddy spoilage

By B Anbuselvan

In a bid to curb paddy spoilage due to the lack of storage facilities at direct procurement centres (DPCs), the state will establish six integrated modern rice mills in four districts under public-private partnership (PPP) mode during 2024-25.

The idea of these integrated rice mills, mooted last year with an objective to enhance the efficiency of operation of paddy procurement and packing for PDS, has made significant progress, said official sources. The decision was also prompted by allegations of demand for bribes by the workers at the DPCs who weigh the paddy brought by the farmers.

According to sources, one mill with a capacity of 200 MT will be established in Theni, and five 500 MT mills will come up in Thanjavur (2) Thiruvarur (2) and Cuddalore (1) districts. Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) will oversee the construction of these mills.

An official from TNCSC told TNIE that the tender process is underway. “Necessary paperwork has been completed. Concerns from all stakeholders are being addressed,”

Each integrated rice mill will comprise a post-harvest dryer, a parboiling unit, a milling unit, state-of-the-art paddy storage facilities, an automated rice packing system, a warehouse for rice storage, and conveyors for transporting rice bags to trucks, he added.

A large quantity of paddy bags at DPCs spoils every year due to exposure to rain and adverse weather conditions. Around 45 lakh MT of paddy was procured for the public distribution system (PDS) during 2023-24 with a spoilage rate ranging from 4 % to 6%. The permissible moisture level for paddy is 17%, but in the delta region, moisture levels often rise to 19-21% during September-October rains.

Though the government provides incentives of Rs 82 and Rs 107 per quintal for ordinary and fine variety paddy, respectively, along with the minimum support price for drying paddy before transferring it to DPCs, many farmers lack the facilities for drying their produce. Panneerselvam in his budget speech said,

“To protect the paddy grains at the DPCs, paddy storage structures have been constructed in 18 places at a cost of Rs 238 crore. Additionally, 55 DPCs with a capacity of 250 metric tons are being set up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.”

This article has been republished from The New Indian Express.