Paddy growers, who get covered under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system in Tamil Nadu, account for around one-fifth of the average number of farmer-beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in the State.
“This shows that many more paddy-raising farmers should be brought under the MSP fold. This is because, in my assessment, the proportion of paddy-raising farmers in the overall strength of farmers in the State is 30%,” says K. Ramasamy, former Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. As per the State government’s documents, paddy accounts for 35% of the gross cropped area.Implemented since February 2019, PM-KISAN aims at augmenting the income of families of all landholding farmers, regardless of the size of landholding. Every farmer-beneficiary receives ₹6,000 annually in three installments. According to official data, 48 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu have registered with the authorities for the scheme, even though the number of farmers getting paid varies from quarter to quarter. For example, in the previous financial year (2022-23), the first quarter saw 31,92,733 farmers getting paid whereas in the third quarter, the number came down to 20,91,653. One of the reasons for the fall is the non-submission of e-KYC forms by sections of beneficiary-farmers. Moreover, exclusion norms are being implemented more vigorously than in the past. The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) procures paddy from farmers at the rates of MSP, along with the State government’s incentive.
Dr. Ramasamy said there were compelling reasons why many farmers would prefer private traders to the TNCSC. Besides, farmers who are tenants and carrying on their business informally may not be able to submit proper land records for getting covered under the MSP system. He further said that the present number of farmers getting covered under the MSP system appeared to be getting stabilised, given the change in the methodology of calculation of the number of farmers. Since 2022-23, the Corporation is going by the method of individual-based calculation, leaving no room for duplication.
Samba Vaidyanathan, a farmer based out of Papanasam in Thanjavur district, said that better enforcement of the vigilance system at DPCs would lead to a substantial increase in the number of farmers coming forward to sell their produce to the TNCSC.
P.R. Pandian, a Mannargudi-based veteran farmer, has a different take. “If the MSP covers the actual cost of production, it is well and good. We won’t mind even if the governments — Central and State — do not have to give us subsidies. But, they must ensure that our cost of cultivation is fully covered. This will lead to enormous rise in coverage of farmers under the MSP,” he said.
