Last year, the farmers in Odisha paid an average ₹2500-2800/quintal for paddy seeds
| Photo Credit:
KUMAR SS
Farmers in Odisha are demanding a premium over the current purchase rate of paddy at ₹3,100/quintal from the seed companies, putting them in a dilemma whether to get into contract farming in the ensuing kharif season and at what rate they will buy from farmers. However, this is not confined to Odisha. Chhattisgarh and Telangana may also have a similar situation as both States pay bonus over and above the minimum support price of paddy.
The Agriculture Ministry has taken note of the issue after it was raised by a farmer producer organisation (FPO) in Odisha at a webinar on April 3. The FPO’s representative wanted to know at what price Nafed or National Seeds Corporation (NSC) will buy paddy seeds from the State as farmers would require at least ₹200/quintal premium.
“There may not be an issue on the availability of paddy seeds as most farmers use their crop, and supply from other States will also come, which may be at cheaper rates. But, there will always be a possibility of farmers selling those seeds to the government – if it is sold below ₹3,100, even if not directly -could be mixed with their own produce,” an official source said.
Coming at a price
Last year, the farmers in Odisha paid an average ₹2500-2800/quintal for paddy seeds.
“While it is a good step to pay higher price above MSP for paddy to farmers, it will also come with a price since the cost of production will also go up due to seeds alone. The government has to see how to balance both as it is not desirable to allow a hike in cost of production,” said S N Dash, a retired professor of economics who has been into paddy farming for last 4 decades.
States such as Chhattisgarh and Odisha, along with Punjab, Telangana and Haryana, have a higher share in rice procurement vis-a-vis share in marketed surplus in the three years to 2022-23, the CACP report shows. In the same period, the cost of production (A2+family labour) of paddy in Odisha was ₹55,596 per hectare and in Chhattisgarh ₹41,668/hectare.
In the three years up to 2017-18, the average A2+FL paddy cost in Odisha was ₹45,818 per hectare and in Chhattisgarh ₹35,793/hectare, the CACP report shows.
Published on April 4, 2025