Advance procurement of paddy: Stalin to Modi

Contending that the paddy harvest from kuruvai (short-term crop) is likely to commence by the end of August due to opening of Mettur Dam earlier than the appointed date, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance the procurement of paddy by one month from September 1 instead of October 1.

In a letter to Modi, Stalin said for the first time since Independence, the Mettur reservoir was opened for Kuruvai Paddy cultivation on May 24, ahead of the conventional date of June 12. Due to the judicious use of irrigation water during the last paddy season, and due to beneficial rains, the storage position of Metter reservoir is quite comfortable this year, he said.

He also thanked Modi for having announced the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all Kharif crops well before the commencement of sowing.

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Normally, the paddy harvesting season in late September or early October would coincide with both south-west monsoon and north east monsoon leading to yield loss or massive crop damage due to inundation during cyclones.

“But, this year, due to these proactive steps taken by the State Government, farmers are confident of harvesting their Kuruvai paddy commencing from the last week of August 2022,” Stalin said.

Referring to Centre’s announcement that the new MSP announced for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS), 2022 would be applicable October 1, he said it is expected that kuruvai paddy harvest would commence from the last week of August itself.

“Hence, I request that suitable instructions may kindly be issued to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to advance the procurement of Paddy by one month, i.e., from 1st September 2022, instead of 1st October 2022 to safeguard the interest of farmers of Tamil Nadu,” he said.

With Tamil Nadu experiencing a favourable agricultural season this year, the order of the Union Government to procure paddy from September 1 would immensely help farmers of Tamil Nadu to fetch remunerative price for paddy and realize the benefit of increased MSP, the CM said.

While paddy was cultivated on a record 4.9 lakh acre in 2021, the early release of water will help farmers increase the cultivation to 5.22 lakh acre this year. Water from Mettur dam is the lifeline of farmers in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, and parts of Pudukkottai, Tiruchirapalli, and Cuddalore.

The government recently said the increased cultivation area in kuruvai and favourable rainfall during the year 2021-22 contributed to increased food grain production in the state.

The Cauvery Delta, which was used to a three-crop formula – samba, kuruvai and thaladi – had come down to just one crop a year. Till about a decade ago, cultivation would take place in three seasons – Kuruvai (short-term crop) from June to September, Samba (long-term crop) from August to January and Thaladi from January to May – keeping the farmer busy for the whole year.

While the first two seasons primarily cultivated paddy, farmers utilised the third season to cultivate pulses for centuries together with the progressive farming community.