The state of Odisha is currently witnessing large-scale farmers’ protests due to the non-procurement of paddy (kharif crop) from several farmers, despite the assurance given by the state government under a centralised token system. The opposition parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, have raised the issue inside and outside the assembly, keeping the Naveen Patnaik government on the backfoot.Under the token system, Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS), which aims to make the procurement process smooth, efficient and transparent, 14. 97 lakh farmers registered themselves through an Aadhaar-linked online system. The farmer is issued a token generated from the state capital and is given a time period of one month to sell his/her paddy at the nearby paddy procurement centre (PPC) (cooperative society/mandi) at the minimum support price (MSP). Due to the linkage with Aadhaar, the farmer has to be present at the mandi to authenticate his/her biometrics while selling the produce. The payment is to be made directly to the bank accounts of the farmers. In some cases where there are issues with the internet, offline procurement arrangements are also made.Responding to the opposition charges in the assembly, the minister of food supplies and consumer welfare department Ranedra Pratap Swain informed that the state had already procured beyond its quota for the year. It has procured 56.67 lakh tonne paddy by February 23, which is above the limit of 54 lakh tonne fixed for the kharif season.After initial reluctance, the government said it will continue procuring paddy from the registered farmers. In practice however, this is not being done, leaving the farmers either resorting to distress sales to local traders, which means a loss of about Rs 500 to Rs 600 per quintal, or waiting in the mandis. The MSP is Rs 1,868 per quintal this time for paddy, whereas the rate in the open market hovers between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,400. Also read: It’s Time for a 10-Year-Plan that Says How Much Rice and Wheat Will Be Procured From Each StateIn Bargarh district, approximately three lakh tonnes of paddy is lying in the mandis, as per an estimation by a farmers’ group there. In coastal districts like Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur and Ganjam districts, the situation is worse. The farmers brought their paddy in time as prescribed in the token provided to them, but the time period lapsed as the miller did not procure it.Millers procure paddy on behalf of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation of the government. Farmers are unable to leave their paddy in the mandis unattended, so many of them are camping there.Earlier, in January, the state government requested the Centre to release the pending subsidy money so that the procurement process is not hampered.What led to this situation?There is a clear discrepancy between the expected quantity of paddy, which is the sum of the quota of paddy assigned to each farmer through the tokens, and the procurement limit that government has set. As the procurement limit is fixed at 54 lakh tonne and still there are registered farmers awaiting their produce to be taken, the mismatch is conspicuous. The government should have anticipated this situation and prepared a roadmap to deal with it.The millers and cooperative societies have not been able to match the speed of procurement as prescribed by the department. In several cases, the millers are not able to procure the whole quantum of paddy on the day, which was supposed to be procured as mandated by the tokens.For example, on a particular day in a mandi, there are 15 farmers awaiting to sell their paddy. The miller’s vehicle does not have space to take all the paddy that day, leaving the produce of two or three farmers at the cooperative society’s godown or in the verandah. In some places in Nuapada district, the miller did not come for a week or two to the procurement centres, delaying the procurement. In most cases, this delay in procurement has caused expiry of the time period given to the farmer in the token issued and they are denied the opportunity to sell produce for no fault of their own.Despite the token system, ground reports suggest the existence of strong collusion among different players at the procurement point. While the token system has the potential to minimise the role of middlemen, the very provision of assigning a ‘time-limit’ has given space for such collusion.Representative image. An APMC mandi at Gariyaband in Chhattisgarh. Photo: Neeraj Mishra.The more difficulty the farmer faces, the more regular traders, who operate outside the MSP system, stand to benefit. In several instances in Nuapada, Balasore, Puri and other districts, as the token time limit has expired, the farmers have made a distress sales to the local traders at the rate of Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,300. The token system itself is open to manipulation.Also read: How Diversifying Public Procurement of Grains Can Resolve the Impasse Over MSPSources suggest that in many cases, the local traders and millers have purchased paddy from unregistered farmers (or even registered farmers taking advantage of expiry of token time) at a lower rate but the same is shown as having been procured under the quota of a registered farmer – big or small. In exchange of this ‘accommodation’, the ‘won over’ big or small farmer is given a price. This could not be possible without collusion among the millers, local traders and cooperative authorities.In Odisha, the state government has undertaken a progressive practice of assigning self help groups (SHGs) to procure paddy, and now millets, in the form of ‘decentralised procurement’. Unfortunately, there are also complaints that in several cases the local traders are operating in the guise of SHGs and are manipulating the procurement system.The collusion among millers, cooperative society employees or traders is a harsh reality, though it’s difficult to know the quantum of such unwanted/illegal transactions. But this may well prevent genuine farmers, mainly small farmers, from benefiting from the procurement system. It is also understood that the millers stay on good terms with the local politicians and their lobby is very strong.Enhancing the system Procure the remaining paddy: The state should make an assessment and procure the paddy from the left out registered farmers. This will prevent the farmers from resorting to distress sale. The government should also make the figures transparent – what is the total quantum of paddy expected at mandis based on the tokens issued, and what are the financial implications?Decentralise to district-level: Under the current centralised system, the state government has divided the state into two types of land – irrigated and non-irrigated to calculate the per-acre production.In the irrigated land, it has fixed 19 quintals per acre of land, while the same for non-irrigated land is 12 quintals as per-acre production for the purpose of procurement. This division is not real. The quantity of production should be finalised at the district level – reckoning with the difference between the irrigated and non-irrigated land within the district.While the token system is a step in right direction to smoothen procurement process, this should be decentralised to the district level. The district level is ideal as neither it is not too centralised to miss out on local needs nor not too decentralised to be manipulated by the locally influential players.Decentralised procurement could also be better monitored from the district level. Time period on tokens could be given, but should be made flexible and the district collectors should have the power to change it based on emerging situation, and the millers should be made accountable to procure the paddy in time period.Farmers carry wheat as they return to their homes following heavy rainfall induced by Cyclone Amphan, in Birbhum district of West Bengal, May 21, 2020. Photo: PTIDiversify procurement: Over the years, the paddy production in the state has risen. Several initiatives by the state government in the way of investing on irrigation, subsiding the borewells in coastal areas, providing various subsidies and enhancing the procurement, among others have yielded results.The government can fix a limit of procurement keeping its financial ability and announce it. The solution is not to transfer the onus to the private companies (as the new three central farm laws have done), but to encourage and incentivise farmers to diversify the crops. The best way to encourage people to cultivate other crops is to procure them at the MSP. In Odisha, only paddy is procured, and now millets are also being procured in tribal areas.Also read: Why Governments Need to Advise Farmers on Alternative Cropping PatternsDiversification of procurement of other crops by the state government can also reduce financial burden. The state government should prepare roadmap to procure other crops like cotton, pulses, oilseed, sugar, etc. There is already production of such crops in Odisha. Their procurement will encourage the farmers to divert from paddy cultivation to other crops. The roadmap should include how to develop infrastructure, process of procurement, identify areas which are special for certain crops etc. The Kalia scheme could be linked to incentivise the farmers to grow diverse crops.Strengthen monitoring system: In order to minimise manipulation of the system, random visits should be done by the district and block officials to the houses of some farmers (rich farmers mainly) to see if they actually have the quota of paddy, they are willing to sell at the mandis. Devise other forms of monitoring during the procurement. This will minimise the misuse of the token system and the collusion factors working at local level. Accountability at different levels should be fixed – cooperative, miller, SHGs, etc.Grievance redressal mechanism: There should be a designated authority at the block level and one in district level to redress the grievances in a week’s time on any issue relating to the procurement. Give preference to the women farmers in procurement: There are single women (widows and others) who are registered as farmers under the token system. Preference should be given to procure their produces and save them from any hassle during procurement. The government could also plan procuring their produce from their houses. Long-term infrastructure development: As more than 90% are small and marginal farmers in the state, as observed by Activity report 2019-20, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, the state government should strengthen its procurement infrastructure as much as possible.In Odisha, millers procure paddy from farmers on behalf of the government. In the existing arrangement, the infrastructure should be strengthened. The millers ought to make the process smooth, not bunk on some days leaving the farmers in distress.Large areas, godowns, machines that filters the unwanted elements from paddy to make it fair average quality (FAQ) compatible, etc., should be in place in the identified PPCs/mandis. The state can also think of creating a Punjab and Haryana model of developing its own infrastructure including the cold storages, etc., in five to seven years’ time.Pradeep Baisakh is a senior journalist based in Odisha. He can be reached at 2006pradeep@gmail.com
