Supplyco procures 96,734 tonnes of paddy from Alappuzha as ‘puncha' season nears completion
Farmers cultivated paddy on around 600 polders in the district, spread across 28,000 hectares, the majority of them in Kuttanad, during the season. Officials said that 92.48% of the paddy-sown area had been harvested. 'Harvest has been completed in 25,966.78 hectares. Procurement is progressing. The entire process is expected to be completed by the end of May,' said a Supplyco official.
The season witnesses the most extensive acreage of paddy cultivation in the region. At present, 53 mills are engaged in paddy procurement.
Even as the season is drawing to a close, issues continue to mar procurement at several places in Kuttanad and upper Kuttanad. Farmers said agents of mills were demanding huge discounts, in some cases up to 15 kg per quintal, to procure harvested paddy, citing discolouration, shrivelled grains, high chaff and moisture content. Last week, the State government decided to rope in Oil Palm India to procure harvested paddy lying on polders after rice mills refused to take them, citing poor grain quality.
Paddy procurement is carried out based on online registrations made by farmers. Supplyco has purchased paddy worth ₹272.79 crore from farmers in the district so far.
As in previous years, farmers receive payment from banks as post-harvest credit, which is later reimbursed to the banks by the government. Though Supplyco has begun disbursing paddy receipt sheets (PRS) to farmers, a majority of them are yet to receive the payment. Officials said that only the lists of farmers who sold paddy to Supplyco until March 31 had been given to State Bank of India for disbursing the procurement price. They said that talks were ongoing with Canara Bank about rejoining the PRS loan scheme.
Farmers are also upset over the State government's decision not to increase the procurement price. Supplyco is purchasing paddy at ₹28.20 per kg, which includes the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹23 provided by the Union government and ₹5.20 incentive bonus from the State government. The procurement price has remained unchanged since 2022-23. Though the Centre raised the MSP by ₹1.17 to ₹23 in June last year, the State offset this by reducing the bonus by the same amount to keep the price at ₹28.20. Besides the procurement price, farmers are entitled to receive 12 paise per kg as handling charges.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
10 hours ago
- India.com
Indian Railways news: Ticket booking to get superfast, Railways bringing major upgrade, new app will...
New Delhi: The waiting period for getting your railway ticket would be reduced significantly, and there will be no delay in getting your confirmed seat. The Indian Railways is soon going to update its Passenger Reservation System (PRS), which will increase the speed of booking by four times. Currently, fewer tickets are booked per minute, while the new system will have the ability to book more tickets per minute. What are the benefits of the new ticket booking system? The biggest benefit of this important initiative will be seen during festivals, holidays and crowded seasons, when it is difficult to get tickets. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Kuldeep Tiri says that for this technical improvement, Railways is working in collaboration with the Center for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). Under the upgrade, hardware, software, network and security infrastructure will be completely changed. What will be the new system based on? The new system will be based on cloud technology, which will not only be faster but also more secure and convenient. The existing PRS system was started in 2010, which is based on the old Itanium server and Open VMS. Given the increasing population and digital traffic, it was the need of the hour to upgrade it. What is the new mobile app RailOne? The Railways have reduced the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) from 120 to 60 days from November 1, 2024, with an aim of reducing the problem of ticket cancellation. Apart from this, the Railways has also launched a new mobile app called 'RailOne', through which passengers can book both reserved and unreserved tickets from their mobile. Railways have also come up with a big plan for the general category passengers. In the year 2024-25, general coaches have been added to many long-distance trains.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
Supplyco increases Kera coconut oil purchase limit to two litres
In a bid to counter the steep rise in coconut oil prices, Supplyco has raised the purchase limit of its Kera coconut oil from one litre to two litres per consumer. The decision comes amid a surge in demand for coconut oil ahead of the Onam season. Supplyco is currently selling one litre of Kera coconut oil, which has a maximum retail price of ₹529, at a subsidised rate of ₹457. This is in addition to one litre of coconut oil provided at subsidised rates and Supplyco's own brand, Sabari coconut oil, available at non-subsidised rates for ₹349 a litre. In a statement, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil said that discussions were recently held with coconut oil suppliers to explore measures to stabilise prices. Market intervention activities were subsequently intensified to prevent further price escalation during the festival season.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Will raise salary package for ration dealers in Kerala: Minister
Kottayam: Food minister G R Anil on Monday announced that govt would implement an increase in salary package for ration dealers in Kerala. Anil was inaugurating the state delegates meeting of All Kerala Retail Ration Dealers Association (AKRRDA) at Alappuzha Rayban Auditorium. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The revision of wages has been a long-standing demand of the ration traders' organisations. Although delayed due to govt's financial difficulties, efforts are being intensified to realise this. From next year, govt aims to collaborate with cooperative institutions to procure maximum paddy and make payments within hours. Payment for the procured paddy will be settled before Onam," said the minister. "Till last year, Centre owed Rs 1,109 crore to the state for paddy procurement. Supplyco is only its agency. Last year, Rs 1,703 crore was paid for procured paddy but not a single rupee was provided by central govt. An additional Rs 529 crore is needed to fully settle the payment for paddy procured in Kerala. Under the pretext of e-POS malfunction, Rs 300 crore has been withheld," he said. "Operating hours of ration shops will be changed to 9am -12pm and 4pm -7pm. The proposal to raise age limit for ration dealers to 70 years won't be accepted. It will only be implemented after review," he added. Association state president Johny Nelloor presided over the meeting. More rice for Onam To curb rising prices in the open market, more rice will be distributed through ration shops ahead of Onam, said Anil. Holders of white cards will receive 15kg rice for Rs 10.90/kg, while blue cardholders will get an additional 10kg rice besides what they currently receive and red cardholders will receive an extra 5kg per card. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Free Onam kits and rice will be provided to six lakh people, including residents of welfare institutions and those with AAY cards. Last month alone, sales through Supplyco was Rs 168 crore, with 31 lakh people purchasing goods. During Onam, essential goods worth Rs 280 crore are expected to be sold through Supplyco, benefitting 50 lakh families. Discounts will be offered on 292 products. Rice will be sold at Rs 25 for 20kg and chilli at Rs 115/kg. From Aug 25, mobile shops will travel through rural areas to sell discounted goods. "Govt adhered to its announcement regarding cooking oil, which is now being sold at Rs 349, down from the market price of Rs 529. As Onam approaches, price of cooking oil is expected to reduce further," the minister said.
