Tamil Nadu: Moisture norm troubles paddy ryots, 44,000 hectares yet to be harvested

By B Anbuselvan

With less than a week left for the kuruvai harvest season to end, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is yet to announce any relaxation to permit procurement of paddy with up to 22% moisture content as requested by the state government, landing thousands of farmers in hot water.

According to officials from the Agriculture and Food Departments, kuruvai paddy was cultivated across 6.1 lakh acres, of which more than 5.5 lakh acres has already been harvested. “Around 44,000 acres of paddy remains to be harvested as of Thursday, and this will be completed within four to five days,” an official told TNIE.

The centre had deputed three teams to the state two weeks ago to assess the situation caused due to unseasonal rainfall. The teams were deputed after Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote a letter to the centre on October 19 to increase the cap on moisture content in paddy from 17% to 22%. It can be recalled that in 2019-20 and 2020-21, the centre had granted permission to procure paddy with 19%-20% moisture content within a week of receiving the state government’s request.

A section of officials and farmers told TNIE that the delay or denial in granting relaxation in moisture content could have huge financial implication not only for farmers, but also for the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC), which procures the paddy on behalf of the Food Corporation of India through the central pooling scheme.

Only paddy with 17% moisture can be bought

Farmers associations have warned that kuruvai paddy cultivated in hundreds of acre could sprout if the moisture cap is not relaxed or they would be forced to sell their produce at a lower price to private traders.

TNCSC, however, has remained tight-lipped about the potential impact of the delay or the proportion of the total harvested paddy that has high moisture content of 18% to 22%. At present, only paddy with a moisture level of up to 17% can be procured under the Kharif Marketing Season 2025–26, which began on September 1.

TNCSC officials from the four delta districts stated that 98% of the harvested paddy has already been procured by the DPCs in Thanjavur (2,53,252 MT), Tiruvarur (2,83,271 MT), Nagapattinam (1,27,497 MT), and Mayiladuthurai (1,22,510 MT) districts.

A Annadurai, MD of TNCSC, said, “We currently do not have precise data on how much paddy may have moisture levels between 18% and 22% due to the last month’s monsoon rains in delta and other regions. However, many farmers are drying their paddy to bring it down to 17% moisture before selling it at Direct Procurement Centres.”

This article has been republished from The New Indian Express.