Delay in paddy procurement leaves farmers on edge in Odisha 

With paddy packets reportedly lying unsold at the Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) at Bausuni village under Binika block of Subarnapur, the farmers are under severe mental stress thinking about how they will repay the loans they had taken to grow paddy crops. 

As per reports, for more than eight days, farmers have been waiting at the Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) centre opened at Bausuni village to sell their produce. However, the millers, tasked with purchasing the paddy, have not shown up, leading to a mounting surplus.

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Tractors laden with paddy remain stationed outside the PACS centre, with around 5,000 bags already stored within the facility. This accumulation is causing substantial distress among farmers, many of whom have taken loans to finance their farming activities. Concerns over how to meet their financial obligations are growing.

Calls for immediate intervention to clear the backlog at the Bausuni PACS centre are intensifying. 

“Our paddy packets are lying for eight to ten days. With our produce lying unsold, we are facing many problems as we have taken loans to grow them,” said Dushkar Bhue, a farmer. 

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On the other hand, Rabi Thanapati, secretary of the Bausuni PACS, said, “One truck has been dispatched today and three more will be loaded with paddy by tomorrow.”

The reports of mismanagement and irregularities in paddy procurement have been surfacing at regular intervals. Last month, a group of farmers in Bargarh district had allegedly locked up the Chief Civil Supplies Officer Raj Kishore Panigrahy in his office alleging severe mismanagement and irregularities in paddy procurement.