Odisha government assures rain-hit farmers of paddy procurement below FAQ norms

The state government on Tuesday reassured the farmers that it will procure paddy affected by the recent rains under the price support system even if it does not conform to the FAQ (fair average quality) norms set by the central government.

Such a promise came from Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra a day after Revenue minister Suresh Pujari said the state government will help the farmers to sell their damaged paddy in addition to compensation under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

“The district collectors have been informed about the government’s decision to procure paddy from rain-hit farmers notwithstanding the quality. Additionally, farmers will be given an extra 15 days after lapse of their tokens to dispose of their paddy at mandis under the minimum support price. They need more time to dry their wet paddy for threshing,” the minister said.

As required by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, which buys rice from states for the central pool, damaged, discoloured, sprouted and weevilled, shrunken and shrivelled grains with moisture content beyond certain percentage do not conform to FAQ norms, and thus rejected.

The minister, however, said nothing on the price at which the state government will buy paddy below the FAQ standard. It is also not clear if the affected farmers will get the input subsidy of `800 per quintal.

Acknowledging the delay in opening of mandis in some districts due to bad weather, Patra assured that fair price will be given after assessing the damage to the paddy. So far, 7.5 lakh metric tonne of paddy have been procured with direct transfers made to the accounts of 1.5 lakh farmers, totalling around `2,100 crore, he said.

Farmers of all coastal districts and some central districts are unable to dry up their rain-soaked paddy due to inclement weather and light rains under the impact of another low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.

This article has been republished from The New Indian Express.