Local grain in PDS: Ragi in, jowar to wait in Karnataka

The State has began offering ragi to poor households beneath the Public Distribution System (PDS) after slicing the quantum of rice.

This is in accordance to the reassurance of Umesh Katti, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, that native foodgrains can be provided to BPL ration card-holders, slightly than the staple of rice and wheat. Now, the 13 districts of Old Mysore area are getting 3 kg of ragi and a pair of kg of rice as a substitute of the 5 kg of rice given per unit earlier.

Mr. Katti had introduced in the Legislative Assembly that the State authorities would distribute domestically favoured foodgrains aside from rice and wheat from April 1. The distribution of ragi has began, however jowar is but to be included in the scheme.

The division has procured round 5 lakh tonnes of ragi, however has been in a position to purchase solely round 50,000 tonnes of jowar. “With this procurement, we can distribute ragi to 13 districts for 10 months. But the jowar collected can last only one month. That is why we are yet to start distributing jowar,” Mr. Katti informed The Puucho.

“Our motto is to give people the grains that they normally eat. We have changed the eating habits of almost the whole State because of the distribution of rice and wheat, which are not the staple of either north or south Karnataka. The 13 districts of the north eat jowar and the southern districts eat ragi. Residents of the remaining four districts eat parboiled rice or red rice. We want to introduce local grains for all the regions, slowly,” he mentioned.

“I’ve written to the Centre to increase the cost of procurement of jowar and fix separate prices for the Mal Dandi native variety, hybrid variety, and Kaniki or split grain. I have met the Union Food Minister and V.P. Sharma, chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, and explained the problem. He has agreed to consider our demand,” the Minister mentioned. “We have asked the Centre to divert some of the jowar collected from Maharashtra.”

Officials mentioned the first difficulty was pricing. “Foodgrains are procured with the funds pooled by the Centre and the State. The Centre contributes around 90% of the cost and the States pay around 10%. We have little say in the procurement. When the Centre allows us to buy local foodgrains using Central funds, we are supposed to distribute it within the State. There is a big difference between the prices that we offer through the Food Corporation of India and the market prices. While jowar growers sell for between ₹4,000 and ₹5,000 per quintal, we offer only ₹2,600 to ₹3,200. Jowar growers will sell only if we pay attractive prices. Otherwise, it will remain an empty promise,” mentioned a senior official.

The official mentioned the Centre provides round 28 lakh tonnes of rice yearly. “That is more than we can consume. We only need around 18 lakh tonnes. If the Centre can reduce this quantity and instead allow us to buy jowar, red rice, and parboiled rice for the rest of the amount, we would be very happy. This request has been communicated to the Food Ministry.”

Opposition

The determination has not gone down nicely with all, particularly in districts similar to Shivamogga the place rice slightly than ragi is the staple. The authorities’s determination to exchange rice with ragi has been opposed by many ration-card holders in the district. Nagaraj, of Salukodu in Sagar taluk, mentioned rice was a standard meals in his household. “Already, the government has reduced the quantity of rice from 7 kg to 5 kg. A further decrease in quantity will affect us. We don’t want ragi. The government should continue with rice and increase the quantity,” he mentioned. His household of 4 used to get 20 kg of rice a month.