Farmers in Tripura, who sell paddy seeds to the Agriculture Department through the Agri-sub divisional office, have demanded an increase in the price of paddy seeds from the government. They argue that the price of paddy seeds has remained stagnant at Rs. 24 per kilogram for the past five years, while the government has increased the price of rice when procuring from farmers through the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Farmers claim that the production and monitoring costs for seed production are higher compared to rice production, as there is no specialized monitoring system for rice production.
The farmers have also faced difficulties in supplying paddy seeds to the government due to a shortage of government officials. The shortage of officials has led to delays in the quality checking process for procuring paddy seeds from farmers. Additionally, there is a shortage of sufficient storage facilities, resulting in losses of seeds and money.
Farmers from the Bagma agri-subdivision have complained about the delay in receiving payment for the supplied paddy seeds, while the FCI transfers the price amount for rice to farmers within seven days.
A high-level officer from the Agriculture Department acknowledged that a farmer in the Nalchhar area had received breeder seeds from the government department for seed production, but the quality of those seeds did not match ICAR seeds. The government is working on enhancing the quality of the seeds.
Kiran Bhowmik, a PhD Scholar of Agricultural Economics at the Economics Department of Tripura University, has emphasized the need for government policies to increase the price of paddy seeds for the benefit of farmers. Reducing the marginal cost of production is crucial for the farmers’ welfare, according to Bhowmik’s analysis.
Overall, the demands of Tripura’s farmers for an increase in the price of paddy seeds reflect their concerns about the rising costs of production, lack of adequate monitoring and storage facilities, and delays in receiving payments. The government’s attention to these issues and the implementation of policies to support farmers in seed production are essential for the sustainable growth of agriculture in the region.
