Palakkad: Even as Kerala nears the milestone of being declared free from extreme poverty, paddy farmers in Palakkad, who have produced nearly five crore kilograms of rice, are still waiting for government intervention to help them sell their harvest.

With procurement yet to begin, many farmers have been forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices, while paddy stored by others is being destroyed by the heavy rains.

“Had Supplyco started procuring paddy at least by October 1, we wouldn’t have been forced to sell it at a loss of ₹25,000,” says Shailaja, a farmer from the Kannadi Chemmankad paddy fields in Palakkad. She sold her paddy for ₹2,300 at ₹20 per kilogram about 20 days ago after running out of options to store it. Nirmala, another farmer from the same area, sold half a tonne of her crop for whatever little price she could get.

“Though the paddy was covered with tarpaulin to protect it from the rain, moisture still seeped in,” says 88-year-old PR Viswanathan, another farmer who continues to wait for procurement. In his courtyard lie nearly 10 tonnes of paddy, some of which has already started to sprout.

During the first crop season, 74,324 tonnes of paddy were procured from 33,790 farmers in Palakkad. This time, with lower yields, around 55,000 tonnes are expected. Harvesting has already been completed in 90% of the fields.

The State Government has announced a procurement price of ₹30 per kilogram, prompting agents in the open market to marginally raise their rates by ₹1 to ₹2. Until Wednesday, mill agents were still offering only ₹20 per kilogram.

“A situation where paddy is damaged in the fields or farmers are forced to sell at throwaway prices will be avoided. Further discussions will be held with farmers. Once procurement begins in association with Kerala Bank, farmers will be paid within three days,” said GR Anil, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies.