Paddy Procurement Woes

Upon being discharged from the hospital on 30 Sep, Panjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann immediately convened a meeting to discuss paddy procurement. 50K arthiyas (commission agents) and nearly 800K laborers announced a strike from 1 Oct, demanding a revision in commission rates. The Punjab Rice Millers Association also announced a strike, citing a shortage of storage space to stock the paddy produce after harvest. Panjab has a storage capacity of nearly 212 LMT, of which nearly 80% is occupied by wheat, paddy, and rice procured in the previous seasons. Panjab is expecting a bumper crop of 185 LMT paddy, which after shelling, will weigh 120 LMT. After the CM’s intervention, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) announced it will move out 15 LMT of rice by October-end and 40 LMT by December-end. For now, the millers and shellers have called off their strike. However, the larger question is why FCI does not pick up Panjab’s grain in time. Of the approximately 124 LMT of rice delivered to FCI after the 2023-24 paddy season, only 7 LMT was moved out of the state. Last year, Panjab procured around 185 LMT of paddy, which was sent to over 5,000 rice mills for processing. The millers expected milling to be over by March 31, but FCI was unable to meet the deadline. The reason for FCI inaction is: while the paddy Panjab grows is based on the mandate of the Green Revolution in the 1960s, over the last few decades, Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and other states have become self-sufficient paddy growing states. Nationwide demand for Panjab’s rice has reduced. Unless Panjab diversifies its crops, the state will remain stuck with producing paddy and procurement woes which the nation no longer needs (SDW Vol 2 Issue 35, Story 5).