Belagavi: Rajya Sabha member Iranna Kadadi Friday accused the state govt of failing to procure food grains at the minimum support price (MSP), alleging that farmers are being neglected. He said only Rs 1,219 crore has been released out of Rs 3,615 crore due for ragi, jowar and paddy procurement.Addressing the media, Kadadi said 5.6 lakh tonnes of ragi, 2.2 lakh tonnes of jowar and 5,670 tonnes of paddy have been purchased under MSP. “Only Rs 1,219 crore has been released for purchasing these three crops. Farmers are still owed Rs 2,400 crore,” he said.Alleging a two-month delay in payments, he said the rule mandating the release of money within 48 hours of procurement is not being followed. He also said the state govt has not come to the aid of cowpea farmers in North Karnataka.Kadadi said the downpour has declined, leading to water shortage in reservoirs. He added that no agriculture minister, agriculture marketing minister or horticulture minister has been appointed, leaving farmers without representation. “No one is listening to the farmers’ problems,” he said.He also raised concerns over the govt order requiring beneficiaries to provide caste certificates to receive food grains at the ration centres. Criticising the proposed shift from Annabhagya to Indira Kits, he said, “A beneficiary should be given grains according to the number of members in the respective family. But distributing the kit is unscientific.”Praise for FCI unit performanceKadadi, who is chairman of the state-level advisory committee of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), praised the Karnataka unit for safe transportation and storage of food grains. He said FCI has adhered to prescribed standards for storage, transportation, and quality management.FCI has 61 godowns in the state with a storage capacity of 10.6 lakh metric tonnes. Additional godowns with a capacity of 2.4 lakh metric tonnes are being set up under the PPP model. The Benakanahalli depot in Belagavi district has won the award for the best depot in southern states.Since its inception, the FCI unit has collected and supplied a record 54.5 lakh metric tonnes of food grains. Kadadi credited the team led by FCI general manager BO Maheshwarappa for ensuring minimum loss in transportation and storage, along with zero food grain damage.
