The lack of storage space at grain purchase centres continues to distress farmers across the state.
The farmers of the West Godavari district complain that they were not being supplied with enough gunny bags despite camping outside the grain purchase centres for over a week.
One of the farmers explained that they required 50 gunny bags to store the produce of an acre of land, but that they were supplied with less than 20 bags per acre.
Another agriculturist stated that he required upto 2,600 gunny bags for his grains, but that he was given only 400 bags.
Of the 75 purchase centres set up in the district, only a handful are currently open.
In Karimnagar district, Food Corporation of India (FCI) has established 12 grain purshase centres. The storage space in most of these centres is occupied with the produce of the Kharif season. Where, then, will the Rabi harvest be stored, ask the hapless farmers.
The government's ban on rice exports is cited to be the root cause of the problems of farmers.
It has been estimated that 9 lakhs of gunny bags would be required to store the influx of grains. While the authorities concerned refuse to budge to provide the farmers with the required storage facilities, unseasonal rainfall threatens to drench the hills of paddy grains outside the purchase centres.
Ryots across the state are lamenting that they are being
denied the minimum support price (MSP) for their grains at the purchase centres.