Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil has refuted reports that the government intended to entrust Supplyco’s responsibility of paddy procurement to cooperative societies.
The government, however, has been actively considering roping in cooperative banks for a mechanism that ensured speedy disbursal of farmers’ dues immediately after harvest, he said in a statement.
The move comes amid vehement criticism faced by the government for an inordinate delay in compensating a section of farmers for paddy procured from them during the previous rice cultivation season.
While reiterating that the Supplyco (Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation) will continue to spearhead paddy procurement, Mr. Anil has said the ongoing efforts are intended to utilise the State’s robust cooperative sector to strengthen the process.
Highest price offered
The Minister claimed the State’s paddy procurement process is regarded as the best in the country. Among the other benefits, paddy farmers in Kerala received the highest price provided for paddy. Supplyco currently paid ₹28.20 per kg of paddy procured. The compensation included a minimum support price of ₹20.40 and a State incentive bonus of ₹7.80.
The government has been releasing the procurement price as Paddy Receipt Sheet (PRS) loan availed from banks with guarantee from Supplyco as soon as the paddy is harvested. Paddy worth ₹2,070.71 crore had been procured from 2,50,373 farmers during the last season. While Supplyco could disburse ₹1,637.71 crore to 1,96,004 farmers on time, the payment of ₹433 crore to the remaining 54,369 farmers was delayed owing to various reasons.
These included outstanding dues that are yet to be received from the Central government. There are outstanding dues amounting to over ₹600 crore on account of Central share that existed since 2017-18. This has affected loan repayment, thereby making banks reluctant to lend further assistance.
The situation prompted the State government to sanction an amount of ₹180 crore to compensate paddy farmers who were to be paid dues up to ₹50,000. The remaining amount was obtained as loans from banks before Onam. However, the distribution of the dues faced delay due to procedural delays on the part of the banks, Mr. Anil said.
