<p class="title">The Centre’s orders to procure boiled rice produced in Coastal Karnataka and distribute it to the poor through the public distribution system (PDS) will benefit no one as a majority of farmers had already sold their paddy to rice mills.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal in a letter to Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Shobha Karandlaje informed that the Ministry had received a letter from the Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs from the Karnataka government, seeking permission to procure local paddy varieties like Kaje, Jaya, Jyothi, Panchmukhi, Sahyadri, and Uma grown in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts under decentralised procurement and consumption scheme and distribution to beneficiaries of priority households (PHH) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The permission was given to procure local paddy varieties by the department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on December 31.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Welcoming the Centre’s decision to distribute boiled rice through PDS, Minister for Social Welfare Kota Srinivas Poojary said, “Distributing boiled rice through PDS was a long pending demand of people. White rice given to cardholders was allegedly sold to shopkeepers in order to purchase boiled rice from them. One lakh quintal rice is distributed every month through PDS in undivided Dakshina Kannada.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Poojary thanked both the Centre and state government for fulfilling the demands of the people of the coastal belt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Puttur MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor said the decision will also benefit the farmers. </p>.<p class="bodytext">But, farmers said that harvest in the coastal districts of DK and Udupi was completed in November.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Lacking a proper storage facility, farmers had already sold the paddy to mill owners for Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,600 per quintal, which is much less than the price fixed for paddy under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme (Rs 1,940 for the normal category).</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Government should have announced the purchase of local varieties of boiled rice in October in order to help farmers in Kharif season. The government’s decision will benefit only mill owners,” Raitha Sangha Hasiru Sene state secretary Manohar Shetty told <em><span class="italic">DH</span></em>.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Government should direct APMCs to visit farmers in the villages and procure paddy from them soon after the harvest, he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“I had harvested 20 quintals of paddy. But, sold it to local mill owners. I have to travel 30 km from my village to sell the paddy at the procurement centre under MSP. The extra money which I get for selling through MSP will be utilised as transportation cost,” said another farmer Narayana.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This year, paddy is cultivated on 10,073 hectares of land during the Kharif season in Dakshina Kannada and 35,726 hectares in Udupi.</p>
<p class="title">The Centre’s orders to procure boiled rice produced in Coastal Karnataka and distribute it to the poor through the public distribution system (PDS) will benefit no one as a majority of farmers had already sold their paddy to rice mills.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal in a letter to Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Shobha Karandlaje informed that the Ministry had received a letter from the Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs from the Karnataka government, seeking permission to procure local paddy varieties like Kaje, Jaya, Jyothi, Panchmukhi, Sahyadri, and Uma grown in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts under decentralised procurement and consumption scheme and distribution to beneficiaries of priority households (PHH) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The permission was given to procure local paddy varieties by the department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on December 31.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Welcoming the Centre’s decision to distribute boiled rice through PDS, Minister for Social Welfare Kota Srinivas Poojary said, “Distributing boiled rice through PDS was a long pending demand of people. White rice given to cardholders was allegedly sold to shopkeepers in order to purchase boiled rice from them. One lakh quintal rice is distributed every month through PDS in undivided Dakshina Kannada.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Poojary thanked both the Centre and state government for fulfilling the demands of the people of the coastal belt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Puttur MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor said the decision will also benefit the farmers. </p>.<p class="bodytext">But, farmers said that harvest in the coastal districts of DK and Udupi was completed in November.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Lacking a proper storage facility, farmers had already sold the paddy to mill owners for Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,600 per quintal, which is much less than the price fixed for paddy under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme (Rs 1,940 for the normal category).</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Government should have announced the purchase of local varieties of boiled rice in October in order to help farmers in Kharif season. The government’s decision will benefit only mill owners,” Raitha Sangha Hasiru Sene state secretary Manohar Shetty told <em><span class="italic">DH</span></em>.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Government should direct APMCs to visit farmers in the villages and procure paddy from them soon after the harvest, he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“I had harvested 20 quintals of paddy. But, sold it to local mill owners. I have to travel 30 km from my village to sell the paddy at the procurement centre under MSP. The extra money which I get for selling through MSP will be utilised as transportation cost,” said another farmer Narayana.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This year, paddy is cultivated on 10,073 hectares of land during the Kharif season in Dakshina Kannada and 35,726 hectares in Udupi.</p>