Rise in rent of paddy harvesting machines worries farmers

The increase in cost of renting paddy harvesting machines has worried farmers in Yadgir. According to the farmers, the rent for a harvesting machine is ₹2,300 per hour, up from ₹1,800. The machines have come in the district from other areas of Karnataka and also from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The increase in cost of renting paddy harvesting machines has worried farmers in Yadgir. According to the farmers, the rent for a harvesting machine is ₹2,300 per hour, up from ₹1,800. The machines have come in the district from other areas of Karnataka and also from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The farmers who have land on both banks of the Krishna and the Bhima used pumpsets and cultivated paddy. The area on which paddy was cultivated for the monsoon was 1,02,744 acres, which is 101.32% more than the target of 1,01,426 acres.

“The reason for the increase in the machine rent is that most of the farmers are harvesting the paddy. With no alternative, we are paying the higher rent and harvesting the paddy to prepare the land for the next crop,” a farmer in Wadgera taluk has said.

The crash in prices of paddy in the open market has compounded farmers’ problems and this happened because of the increase in supply to the markets. Earlier, the price was ₹1,800 per bag weighing 75 kg. But the present rate is between ₹1,650 and ₹1,750.

“The price in the open market is not sufficient. Every farmer has spent thousands of rupees. Therefore, the government should open procurement centres and fix prices considering the expenditure,” another farmer said.