A central team sampling paddy fields at a direct purchase center in Thanjavur on October 26, 2025. Photo credit: R. Vengadesh
Central government teams visited Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Tiruchi districts on Sunday to assess the moisture content of paddy stocks following incessant rain under the influence of the Northeast Monsoon. Farmers in the Cauvery delta have urged the teams to ensure release of the moisture content release report without delay to facilitate smooth awarding of contracts.
State request
The visit comes after the Tamil Nadu government sought permission from the Center to acquire paddy fields with up to 22% moisture, citing the impact of rain.
A team led by PK Singh, deputy director, Indian Institute of Grain Storage Management and Research, Ludhiana, along with technical officers Shobhit Siwach and Rakesh Barala inspected the Aalakkudi direct purchase center in Thanjavur district in the morning. Samples were collected from paddy bags.
Farmers gathered at the site urged the officials to release the report as soon as possible. “Every year during the ‘Kuruvai’ and ‘Samba’ seasons, the moisture level rises due to rain. But there is always a delay in the decision. This time we want the report to be released immediately,” said the farmer.
Senior officials, including Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) Managing Director A. Annadurai and Collector P. Priyanka Pankajam, accompanied the team which also visited malls. in Raramuthirai Kottai, Telungan Kudikaad and Keel Koilpathu.
Another team conducted inspections in Tiruchi district starting from Valadi taluk. He visited malls in Valadi, Poovalur, Komangudi and Koppavalli. A team comprising RK Shahi, Deputy Director (S&R), Food and Public Distribution Department, and Technical Officers Rahul Sharma and Tanij Sharma, interacted with officials and farmers, inspected stocks and collected samples. They were accompanied by TNCSC and district administration officials. The same team went to Pudukkottai in the afternoon and inspected malls at Kallakottai, Banduvakottai, Raghunathapuram, Thattamanipatti and Kulathur Nayakarpalli in Gandarvakkottai taluk. She assessed moisture levels in the paddy field, analyzed procurement delays and noted farmers’ concerns.
Common demand
In all the three districts, farmers raised a common demand: that the Center empower the state government to decide on reducing the moisture content, as the delay in the Centre’s approval has affected procurement and their livelihood.
With nearly 6.5,000 acres of ‘Kuruvai’ rice grown in the delta this year and 80% of the harvest completed, thousands of tonnes of rice lay in the open for several weeks due to lack of transport. The rain raised the humidity level above 17%.
The central team visited six direct purchase centers in Tiruvallur district. The moisture content of the paddy samples varied between 20% and 22%. Farmers told the team that they were unable to let the rice dry naturally due to continuous rain.
Collector M. Prathap later told reporters that 69 direct purchase centers in the district had collected 58,320 tonnes of paddy from 7,866 farmers. “We expect to get another 15,000 tonnes from 2,726 farmers,” the Collector added.
So far, the district has cleared ₹125 crore in dues to farmers and collected paddy fields worth ₹126 crore.
“In ‘Sornavari’ season, 26,436 hectares of land was riced. Farmers get ₹2,545 per quintal for quality varieties and ₹2,500 per quintal for others. We will clear the rest within 10 days. Settlement takes 3 to 6 days,” said Mr. Prathap.
Published – 26 Oct 2025 20:29 IST
