Paddy procurement resumes in Kottayam after dispute resolution

Procurement of paddy will soon resume in Kottayam after a meeting led by District Collector John V. Samuel. This decision ends a dispute between farmers and mill owners that has caused significant unrest in the region. Officials will begin procuring the remaining paddy stock from fields under the Thiruvarppu agriculture office right away. Farmers have agreed to deliver their paddy to locations that large vehicles can access, which was a significant demand from the mill owners. For fields where harvesting is yet to happen, a designated mill will be chosen the day after the harvest date is provided by the local polder committee. If farmers and mill owners cannot agree on quality standards, official quality checks will be conducted before procurement decisions are made. District Collector Samuel has instructed mill owners to start procurement immediately and ensure no interruptions occur. To mitigate issues caused by potential weather damage, he encouraged both parties to discuss solutions if adverse conditions arise. The meeting also included Supplyco Managing Director Ashwathy Sreenivasan and Agriculture Department Director Sriram Venkitaraman. Venkitaraman emphasized that quality checks would follow the standards set by the Union government. Farmers' representatives raised concerns about middlemen exploitation, while mill owners highlighted financial losses due to the lack of quality standards. The procurement process had stalled over a dispute about payment rates for paddy, further complicated by increased moisture levels in the harvested paddy due to summer rains. Protests by farmers and political groups escalated tensions, leading to police involvement. So far, about 9,500 tonnes of paddy have been procured from a total expected of 47,000 tonnes in Kottayam, with 62% of fields having been harvested.