For weeks now, farmers across Telangana have been guarding paddy heaps covered with tarpaulins under the open sky, looking anxiously at the occasional dark clouds due to delays in procurement.
Untimely rains can leave their grains drenched overnight, while prolonged delays in procurement are causing farmers to suffer financially due to rising labor and transportation costs. As the next planting season approaches, many fear they may be forced to take on new loans before the current crop has been paid off.
In Gopalapuram village of Jammikunta mandal in Karimnagar district, 60-year-old farmer S. Shankaraiah is struggling with his own crisis. On May 5, just days before harvest, a fire destroyed three acres of his maize crop. The fire also destroyed 67 acres of corn standing in neighboring fields.
But the loss of corn is only part of his troubles; Shankaraiah is now waiting to purchase 35 bags of paddy harvested from his remaining land. “The only consolation is that the harvested paddy escaped the fire. We need compensation for the loss of maize and rapid procurement to get us through these difficult times,” he says.
Yadamma, a 48-year-old farmer, faces a different battle in Devulamma Nagaram village in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, about 150 km away. On a hot afternoon in the second week of May, she bends repeatedly to collect paddy spread on tarpaulin sheets into a tub before dumping it on a mound. The grains had become partially drenched during the rain last Sunday. Since then, Yadamma, his family members and hired workers have been repeatedly drying the grains before selling them at the government procurement centre.
“Signs of untimely rain scare us,” she says, picking up another tub of grain in the scorching afternoon sun.
Every evening, the family collects the paddy in a heap and covers it with a tarpaulin sheet for fear of rain
It has been 28 days since many farmers of the village brought their produce to the IKP procurement centre. “We are really hopeful that this will be cleared up soon,” says Yadamma.
The family pays each worker around ₹800 per day and to reduce costs, they also pick tubs and shovels themselves. With the next sowing season approaching, Yadamma fears that if payments for the current crop are further delayed he may have to borrow money for new investments.
At procurement centers run by Indira Kranti Patham (IKP), Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and other agencies in Telangana, similar scenes are unfolding as farmers wait to procure paddy, maize, sorghum, Bengal gram and sunflower. At many centres, grains lie under the open sky for weeks due to heat, dust and untimely rains.
Desperation to sell produce, fear of crop failure and worry over rising debt are among the most common concerns expressed by farmers across districts.
Record crop, growing crisis
The irony is that this crisis has emerged during a record farming season. Agriculture department officials say favorable conditions like availability of irrigation water from projects, healthy groundwater levels and adequate input supply helped in cultivation of over 92.17 lakh acres of land this Rabi season, the highest ever in Telangana.
Paddy alone was cultivated in more than 65.42 lakh acres, maize in about 16.37 lakh acres and sorghum in more than 4.03 lakh acres. Other Rabi crops like gram, groundnut, green gram, sesame, sunflower and safflower also contributed to the record area.
With favorable weather and irrigation support, paddy production is estimated to be about 1.6 crore tonnes and the average yield is 24 quintals per acre. Maize production is estimated at 43.49 lakh tonnes with an average yield of 26.6 quintals per acre, while sorghum production is estimated at 4.03 lakh tonnes with an average yield of 10 quintals per acre.
To handle the production, the state government opened 8,575 procurement centres, including around 3,500 IKP centers and 4,350 centers run by PACS, with a target of purchasing 90 lakh tonnes of paddy this season.
According to the Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation, till May 13, around 30 lakh tonnes had been procured and ₹4,520 crore had been deposited into the bank accounts of farmers. The state has also procured about 7 lakh tonnes of maize and some quantity of gram and sunflower after the Center reportedly refused to support the procurement of those crops.
A farmer spreads paddy for drying at the Indira Kranti Patham (IKP) center in Panagal in Nalgonda district on Thursday. | Photo Courtesy: Nagara Gopal
Amidst the increasing complaints of farmers, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday reviewed issues like shortage of gunny bags, porters and transportation bottlenecks and directed officials to expedite the procurement of paddy and maize in mission mode. He has warned that negligence will not be tolerated at any level.
The Civil Supplies Department had also identified five major bottlenecks affecting procurement and issued directions for immediate corrective measures. District Civil Supplies officers were directed to identify rice mills where vehicles were stranded due to delay in unloading, and ensure immediate clearance of pending stocks.
Despite these interventions, The pace of procurement continues to be criticized by opposition parties, Particularly Bharat Rashtra Samiti and Bharatiya Janata Party, which have accused the government of slow procurement, delay of grains in mills and warehouses and late payments to farmers.
However, the government has rejected the allegations as politically motivated. Civil Supplies Minister N. “The government is committed to purchasing paddy as promised and making timely payments to farmers,” says Uttam Kumar Reddy.
According to official data, paddy procurement in Telangana was 13.24 lakh tonnes in 2014-15, 8.42 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, 37.21 lakh tonnes in 2016-17, 35.74 lakh tonnes in 2017-18, 37.05 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, 64.18 lakh tonnes. 90.01 lakh tonnes in 2019-20, 2020-21, 50.9 lakh tonnes in 2021-22, 64.52 lakh tonnes in 2022-23, 48 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 and 72.42 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
Despite the large-scale procurement process and competing political claims, the ground reality at many centers remains grim. At an IKP center in Panagal in Nalgonda district, farmers wonder if the long delay is an indirect attempt to discourage paddy cultivation as part of crop diversification efforts.
“When irrigation water is available, we naturally give priority to paddy cultivation. Other crops are damaged by monkeys, wild boars and deer. But if the delay in procurement continues like this, we will be in a lot of trouble,” says a farmer waiting for the disposal of his produce.
The procurement process itself has become a major hurdle. After paddy is harvested, farmers take it to procurement centers on tractors, unload it, spread it to dry and cover it with tarpaulin sheets. They then receive a receipt with the token number and wait for their turn. Once purchasing begins, Hamalis (Porters) weigh the produce, pack it in sacks and load it on lorries for transportation to rice mills and ultimately supply to the Food Corporation of India.
Multiple delays affect procurement
Farmers say that there are delays at every stage of this chain. There are delays in arranging porters, shortage of gunny bags and shortage of heavy vehicles to transport grains. Many farmers also allege that lorries remain parked outside mills for days as rice mills fail to unload paddy promptly, putting further pressure on the availability of transport vehicles. The delay also affects preparations for the next crop season.
Farmers at Eneparthy IKP center in Nalgonda district say that during heavy rains the procurement yard gets flooded as it is located on low-lying ground. “Only 13 farmers’ produce was paid in two months. More than 130 farmers are still waiting. You can calculate how much time it will take,” says K. Ramachandraiah, a farmer.
with Rohini doWith the period associated with extreme heat before the onset of pre-monsoon rains rapidly approaching, farmers are concerned about prolonged exposure of grains to rain and moisture. If the paddy gets wet, they have to hire workers again, move the grain to safer places and dry it again and again before it is suitable for sale. Many farmers say they spend at least ₹600 per laborer every day, besides paying the cost of leased tarpaulin sheets of about ₹20 per sheet per day.
Farmers also fear deterioration in the quality of grains. The moisture content may reduce the price they get or even force them to sell below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). In some cases, grains may germinate if they are left wet for too long.
Many people say that some procurement centers and mills are also making unfair cuts. They claim that the produce of some farmers far behind in the queue is allegedly already being cleaned. Others allege that the mills force them to overfill the bags or cut the grain in the name of chaff and waste. A bag ideally holds 40 kg of paddy, but many farmers complain that they are being forced to fill with up to 42 kg of paddy.
A woman farmer is trying to separate paddy from chaff in Devalamma Nagaram village of Choutuppal mandal of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district on Thursday. | Photo Courtesy: Nagara Gopal
Farmer K of Madipalli village of Hasanparthi mandal of Hanumakonda district. Anjaneyulu says that farmers were waiting for gunny bags for more than 10 days. “We have been visiting the procurement center every day, but to no avail as there are no bags available,” he says.
Farmers also complain about not having uniforms Hamali Tariffs and irregular weighing practices. Nalgonda farmer leader Namireddy Yadagiri Reddy alleges that millers are undercutting the paddy by about 35 kg per tractor-load besides resorting to irregular weighing methods. “At a time when farmers are suffering, political leaders are focusing more on propaganda,” he says, demanding that ministers and MLAs should inspect procurement centers on a regular basis and ensure immediate transportation of grains to mills.
In Rukmapur village of Karimnagar district, farmer Rajamallu says it has been more than three weeks since he brought 300 bags of paddy to the procurement centre. “There is still no sign of stock lifting,” he says, pointing to the nearby piles of paddy lying under tarpaulin sheets.
This crisis is not limited to paddy growers. Maize farmers in the erstwhile Warangal region are grappling with steep fall in prices, delays in procurement and exploitation by private traders. While the MSP of maize is ₹2,400 per quintal, farmers say they are often forced to sell at around ₹2,000 or even less due to rising labor and transportation costs.
Farmer K of Mogilicherla village of Gisugonda mandal of Warangal district. Balaraju says he cultivated maize on 2.3 acres, but eventually sold the produce to a private trader at ₹1,920 per quintal. “I waited for 10 days in the Enumamulla market yard and finally sold it to a private trader,” he says.
Balaraju also alleged that farmers are being forced to procure at Rs 30 per bag, while the government reimburses only Rs 15 per bag.
nexus alleged
Farmer groups and opposition leaders have accused the government of negligence in procurement and alleged collusion between officials and mill owners in making cuts in the name of quality. Bharatiya Janata Party Kisan Morcha state president Lakshmi Narsaiah alleges that farmers are being forced to wait for weeks at procurement centers while millers exploit them through undercuts. “We are spending sleepless nights due to inordinate delay in paddy procurement,” says Srinivas, another farmer, alleging that errant millers are reducing the weight of paddy in the name of husk and classifying the quality produce as ‘B’ grade.
Many farmers also point to lack of storage space and delays in transferring grains to mills. “We staged a Rasta Roko on the Karimnagar-Chopadandi highway on Tuesday to highlight our grievances,” says a young farmer, demanding immediate government intervention.
