Bhubaneswar, Dec 23 (IANS) The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday warned of statewide agitation if the state government fails to resolve various problems faced by farmers related to paddy procurement.
In a press conference held at the party headquarters here, BJD leader and the party’s chief whip in the assembly, Pramila Mallik, said that the nexus between the mill owners and the state government has left farmers disillusioned. Grain rejection continues in the name of the FAQ standards. She announced that the Biju Janata Dal will take to the streets if justice is not ensured to farmers.
Meanwhile, party vice president Sanjay Kumar Das Burma stated in the press meet that though the BJP government in the state keeps patting its own back by claiming to provide an input subsidy of Rs 800 per quintal, it has failed to ensure rightful dues to farmers. He alleged that in the 2024–25 financial year, only about 20 per cent of the targeted paddy procurement was completed.
“Though the season for kharif paddy collection has arrived this year, procurement operations have not begun at all. The government had declared that mandis in 11 districts had been opened, but no procurement had started anywhere. Farmers in these 11 districts are now out on the streets. There is widespread confusion over how much paddy will actually be purchased per token, with unofficial reports suggesting only 100 quintals per token,” said Burma.
Raising concerns over contradictory statements by ministers on procurement limits, the senior BJD leader alleged that while the Food Supplies Minister has said procurement will not exceed the fixed annual limit, the Cooperation Minister claimed that up to 150 quintals will be purchased per token.
He also pointed out towards the statement earlier made by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who had stated in a Cabinet meeting that all fair quality paddy would be procured.
“Which of these statements are we to believe?” he asked, highlighting the lack of coordination. He further alleged that through geo-tagging, satellite surveys, FAQ standards, and grain analysers, the procurement quantity is being deliberately reduced.
On the other hand, while reviewing the Kharif 2025-26 paddy procurement, the Inter-Ministerial Committee here, the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, K.V. Singh Deo, on Tuesday directed the officers to cooperate with farmers and to resolve their problems promptly in the paddy procurement process.
The meeting has advised the departmental officers involved in this process to visit the mandis regularly.
Currently, Kharif 2025-26 paddy procurement is ongoing in the state. According to the available data, to date, 4,39,294 metric tonnes of paddy have been procured from 97,972 farmers in the state through various mandis.
–IANS
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