The Tamil Nadu government, which procures paddy on behalf of the Central government, offers very low price as incentive to paddy farmers, said Pattali Makkal Katchi president Anbumani Ramadoss here on Saturday.
Addressing farmers at Kuruchi hamlet in Thirupanandal taluk in Thanjavur district, as part of his State-wide campaign ‘Tamil Nadu People’s Rights Retrieval Journey’, Dr. Anbumani said while the Centre offered ₹2,369 per quintal as the minimum support price (MSP), the State government added just ₹131 as ‘incentive’ to make it ₹2,500 per quintal.
In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the State government offered ₹500 over and above the MSP and in Odisha the paddy farmers got ₹800 in addition to the MSP fixed by the Centre.
The Tamil Nadu farmers were struggling to make ends meet since they realised just around ₹50 per quintal as ‘real profit’ in view of the steep increase in input and cultivation costs. Such being the case, it would not be proper on the part of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation employees to demand ‘bribe’ for measuring the paddy at direct purchase centres.
While urging the DPC staff to shed the practice of demanding bribe from farmers, he said the State government should enhance its contribution to make the per quintal purchase price in Tamil Nadu as ₹3,500, for the benefit of farmers.
