Government’s paddy procurement in Assam: A ray of hope for farmers

Hemchandra Saikia 

(saikia.hemchandra@rediffmail.com)

The Assam government’s ongoing effort and emphasis to implement the Minimum Support Price for the greater benefit of paddy farmers in the state is really a great need of the hour  and is capable of leveraging several tangible and intangible dividends to our esteemed primary food supplier, the farmers. This will be a great critical economic relief to our farmers, where we see the prevalence of marginal and small farmers as more than 80 percent. Because, to become a sustainable and desirable developed state, inclusive growth is very crucial, and hence the interest of this lion’s share of esteemed marginal and small farmers’ economic and welfare interests needs effective preservation, and that too must be implemented with due plan and policies in due time and place, along with sufficiency in quantum.

In Assam, paddy is the most dominant crop in terms of its cultivated area, occupying 83.95 percent of the total net cropped area of the state. But the average productivity of the crop is 3377 kg per hectare, and due to this, the per hectare profit realisation of our paddy farmers is very low, and in many cases, most of them are incurring economic losses, particularly in the case of local varieties of paddy cultivation. It is mostly the high-yielding suitable varieties of paddy along with due scientific cultivation in time that is capable of yielding due profit to our paddy farmers. But this hope also becomes blotted out of the blue when our farmers have to sell their main crop paddy at a price much below their cost of production, which has a very close relationship with factors like poor economic condition, compulsion of distress sale, glut in production realisation, etc. On the other hand, our farmers cannot stop their paddy cultivation as rice is our staple food and a dominant crop in the state.

It is the minimum support price facility of the government, which is reported to benefit our farmers by allowing them to get at least more than 50% return on their production costs. There is no doubt that MSP is a very effective and encouraging policy of the government, usually announced at the beginning of the sowing season for certain numbers of crops like paddy, wheat, etc. But in order to percolate the greatest benefit of MSP to the maximum desirable numbers of farmers, sufficient numbers of procurement centres in due places without the disturbances of ill-motivated elements discouraging our farmers, particularly the paddy farmers of Assam, is very essential and critical. Because this will not only help our paddy farmers to reap a very remunerative price but also encourage them to lead a better economic life, catalysing them to retain farming year after year and facilitating their offspring rural youth to view farming as a profitable proposition. This is very crucial because Assam is an agrarian state where 75% of its population depends upon agriculture and allied activities as their means of livelihood. Besides, 27.2 lakh farm families are engaged in the cultivation of this paddy crop every year. And in Assam, there is vast scope to boost production of almost all the crops through the exploitation of their yield potential to its optimum level through the timely application of suitable scientific technologies in suitable places, coupled with a very element of commercialization. So in this honest and desirable journey of farming in the state, the very price support policy like the Minimum Support Price for all notified crops will definitely pave the way for better sustainable agricultural development in the state, enabling our farmers to lead a better standard of living and lifestyle through the realisation of better profit even in the compelled situation of distress sale and bumper harvest.

In order to have a win-win situation through the implementation of MSP policy, the following steps need effective execution:

1. A sufficient number of procuring centres are available at every critical and suitable location of economic importance, paving the way for maximum participation of effective farmers without the hardship of communication or transportation problems.

2. Effective participation and cooperation of farmers are needed to make the MSP policy more effective through strict fulfilment of all quality specifications laid down for the said purpose, like moisture content, inert material, foreign material, disease-free or damaged material, etc. In this case, effective awareness through all accessible print and electronic media, meetings, seminars, etc. will help to a great extent to a grand success.

3. Preventing all ill-motivated elements that breed discouragement or discontentment among our real farmers through maximum participation in the MSP policy meant for them through strict and regular vigilance and monitoring.

All these steps are crucial, requiring their effective implementation and realization. Of course, this year’s Assam government decision led by honourable Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma to benefit our paddy farmers through MSP policy is really a very welcome approach and a great ray of hope for our esteemed paddy farmers to get their justifiable remunerative price to lead a respectable life through better price ealization. It will also encourage our farmers to continue farming as their livelihood in their lives, besides drawing the attraction of our rural youth towards agriculture as their profitable proposition of livelihood. Because the government already convinced FCI, AFCSCL, NAFED, NAXOF, NCCF, and ASAMB to purchase 10 lakh MT of paddy from our farmers at an MSP of Rs. 2183 per quintal for common paddy and Rs. 2203 per quintal for fine-grained paddy (Grade A), the process has already started across the state. And if this price support policy becomes 100% successful in the state, then it will benefit our farmers to a great extent, with a very historical result. Because generally, our paddy farmers have to sell their paddy at a very low price, or in many cases, much below their cost of production. Farmers in the state used to report that they were compelled to sell paddy to traders or millers in the range of Rs. 900–1000 per quintal of paddy, and this time they will get Rs. 2203 per quintal, which is an increase of Rs. 143 per quintal over the previous year’s minimum support price declared. So the government decision to enhance the MSP of paddy from Rs. 2060 to Rs. 2203 per quintal this year is really a good step forward. Moreover, the Assam government’s decision to open 194 paddy procurement centres across the state will definitely have a desirable level of success. What is very important and essential is to help the government and its agreed-upon agencies make the MSP policy 100 percent successful, and this will really demand the very meaningful cooperation of all the players involved in this holy process of benefiting our esteemed farming community.