Madikeri:

The support price for paddy this year has attracted more farmers to sell their paddy production directly to the government agencies. Hence, this has increased the government’s paddy sock in Kodagu district.The state government has fixed the price per quintal of paddy at Rs 1,110 for ‘A’ grade variety, the government will add Rs 250 subsidy for this and the farmer will get Rs 1,360 per quintal.

The medium quality paddy will get price of Rs 1,080 plus Rs 250 and the aggregate amount of Rs 1,330. Farmers are selling their paddy production directly to agricultural produce marketing committees (APMC) in Madikeri, Gonikoppal and Kushalnagar. “The purchase started last month. So, for 882 quintals in Madikeri,1,192 quintals in Gonikoppal and 113 quintals in Kushalnagar, and in total 2187 quintals of paddy, is sold in APMC,” explained Jayadevaraje Urs, executive, District Food And Civil Supply Corporation Ltd.
Private buyers could not compete with the price, they cannot provide any subsidy and farmers are rushing towards APMC centres as the facility is scheduled till March-end. Later, there is no guarantee whether the same price will be continued by the government. The subsidy will be given to farmers on the basis of 18 to 20 quintals of production per acre and up to the maximum limit of 100 quintals only. The quality test is a compulsory process and moisture test will be done before the paddy is purchased from farmers.”The farmers should bring paddy in gunny bags and each bag should contain only 50 kg. They should also bring certification from the respective village accountants that the paddy is grown during 2011-12.

They should produce record of rights of property. The APMC will give acknowledgement for receiving the paddy and the cheque will be sent to the bank account of sellers within a week,” said Bellu Somaiah, president, APMC, Madikeri.Thalur Kishore Kumar, a farmer from Bettageri, expressed happiness over the government’s new support price. He said that he sold 25 quintals of paddy at Rs 1,300. “When I asked private dealers, they were willing to offer him only Rs 750 per quintal. The government’s new policy has provided the farmer an opportunity to make profit and has encouraged the cultivation of more paddy during next season,” he added.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / City> Mysore/ TNN / January 14th, 2012