Tamil Nadu: Paddy procurement hits bottleneck amid storage, transport crunch

Paddy procurement at Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation’s (TNCSC) Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) is facing severe congestion due to massive inflows, limited warehouse space, transport delays from labour shortages, and continuous rain. Farmers are pressing for faster transfers to warehouses and higher daily procurement targets.

“I queued for three days to sell my paddy, and now my son-in-law has been waiting five days. Every extra day adds to our troubles, especially maintaining required moisture levels,” said N Sundaravadivel, a 53-year-old farmer from Budalur village, Thanjavur district.

Paddy bought at DPCs is transported to TNCSC warehouses, modern rice mills, and finally to PDS ration shops or other districts via freight wagons. However, this year’s Kuruvai procurement target of 9.5 lakh tons exceeds available storage capacity of 7.5 lakh tons. Leftover paddy from the previous season is still sitting idle in some warehouses, further delaying new intake.

Kuruvai cultivation this year expanded to 2.3 lakh hectares in Trichy and delta districts, up from 1.4 lakh hectares in 2024, following timely Cauvery water allocations. Procurement is taking place at roughly 900 DPCs.

Labour shortages at storage facilities are slowing warehouse operations. “We are recruiting contractual workers from neighbouring states to address the shortfall,” said a senior TNCSC official. Farmers are urging upgrades in storage and logistics to reduce manual handling.

Heavy rain is complicating transport, while moisture levels remain a key concern. Paddy above 17% moisture incurs deductions, and over 20% is rejected. Farmers are requesting that the state government appeal to the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Food Corporation of India to relax moisture thresholds given the prolonged monsoon.

Chief minister M K Stalin has instructed district collectors to expedite procurement and address procedural bottlenecks. Temporary open storage solutions like Cover and Plinth (CAP) are being implemented, and efforts are underway to speed up freight wagon dispatches, a TNCSC official said.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.