separating grain from husk

Even though it may seem that the food on your table takes an easy route to reach you, the process of getting grain from the farm is complicated. In welfare states, this involves large-scale government involvement called paddy procurement. Helping farmers to get the right or fair price for their produce, avoiding middlemen running and ensuring that the farmer growing the crop is able to sell it without wastage. Although it sounds simple, there are myriad issues in the process.

The problems are due to lack of information regarding opening of Direct Procurement Centers (DPCs) and high moisture content in paddy (which is always during the ‘Kuruvai’ cultivation season) and insufficient number of drying due to paucity of manpower in DPCs. . To top them all, farmers are forced to pay ₹40-₹60 per bag load man at the DPC. The load man taken from the local laborers is engaged season by season in the DPC. A section of farmers feels that “these are the load men who control everything” in the DPC.

At the same time, many farmers believe that loadmen are not the only ones benefiting from the payment scheme. They feel that local officials, businessmen and politicians are part of this chain. On their part, the load men reject any suggestion of the involvement of politicians throughout the network, although the involvement of officers at lower levels has been noticed by vigilance officers. A month ago, two officials of a DPC at Alpakkam in Cuddalore district were caught by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Directorate after they allegedly took Rs 15,000 from a farmer for the purchase of 250 bags of paddy. A year ago, while hearing a PIL involving alleged irregularities, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had directed DVAC to conduct raids on all DPCs.

The main reason cited in justification for payment to load man is that a load man gets only ₹ 3 per bag in wages. While everyone agrees that wages will have to be raised, there are questions as to whether load men will discontinue their practice even if they are given a manifold wage increase. “Yes, load men will come in line, provided committees, consisting of competent persons and actual representatives of farmers, are in place for every DPC,” says KM Ramagoundar, a farmer in Krishnagiri district. DPC in his village for few years.

In addition to providing a “reasonable income” to the load man, the excess money is used for a number of purposes, including paying honorarium to lorry drivers who haul bags of paddy to Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) godowns. Carry and cost of sacks. In some areas of northern districts like Madurantakam taluk, a part of the amount goes to the DPC for consumption of electricity, which, says a senior TNCSC official, will be rectified in due course. Another portion is set aside for temples if the DPCs are located on temple land. In some places of the Cauvery delta, a small portion goes into the kitty of the respective gram panchayats. “Why don’t you ask the officials to ensure that the lorry drivers don’t run away from us,” asks Pugalenthi, 66, the load man at Keelathirupoonthuruthy DPC. “If this happens, I will not ask for anything from the farmers. For that matter, my fellow weight men too,” he adds. Interestingly, a resident of Palavedu village in Tiruvallur district says that farmers themselves decide how much they should pay the load man every year.

However, those overseeing the purchase emphasize that they are taking every step to eliminate the “load man problem”. Dinesh Ponraj Oliver, Collector of Thanjavur, one of the key areas supplying paddy, says TNCSC staff members have been given “strict instructions” to procure paddy without demanding money from farmers. “If there is any complaint from the farmers, immediate relief will be given to the concerned bill clerk, helper and watchman,” he says.

Collector of another major paddy producing district Tiruvarur, B. Gayatri Krishnan denies the argument that the load man in the DPC runs the show. Only the Senior Regional Manager controls the movement of paddy on lorries. “There is no role for the load man to decide when the lorries move to the DPC or where they are sent for sorting or storage after purchase.”

A senior official observed that there is an element of “master-servant culture” which is associated with the practice of wealth-collecting by the burden men. Most farmers agree with the “system”; Otherwise, there will be retaliation. Similarly, if a farmer tries to bypass the load men, no special knowledge is required to predict the results. But, many weight men do not agree with this view. “If any farmer is not willing to pay me and my colleagues, who number 10, we will quietly withdraw…” says L Ravindran, a load man from Papanasam taluk in Thanjavur district.

Paying extra money isn’t the only big problem. The role of the sections of traders and middlemen has become pervasive in the overall system. It is through this network that paddy is supplied, which is certainly not unique to Tamil Nadu. Paddy either from small and marginal farmers is “collected and supplied” by traders in the DPC, using land records like ‘leash‘ And ‘Adangal‘ Of the farmers themselves (‘Adangal‘ is an important document which gives an account of the status of the cropped area of ​​a farmer). On paper, nothing seems illegal as the money would be deposited into farmers’ bank accounts from which traders would “withdraw their money”. The only downside is that the traders act as middlemen, and it is they who supply the paddy at the DPC.

The per quintal MSP rates fixed by the central government for ‘Normal’ and ‘Grade-A’ varieties increased from ₹1,080 and ₹1,110 in 2011-12 to ₹1,868 and ₹1,888 in 2020-21. Over the years, the state government incentives for the two varieties were ₹50 and ₹70 respectively. This year, the MSP for ‘Normal’ variety has been fixed at ₹1,940 and for ‘Grade A’ at ₹1,960. The state has increased its incentives to ₹75 and ₹100 respectively. file | photo Credit: M. Murthy