Syndicate buying of tapioca by middlemen denies fair price to tribes of Pachamalai

Syndicate among the traders and the middlemen in procurement has severely hit the farmers of Pachamalai, mostly tribes, who cultivate tapioca

Syndicate among the traders and the middlemen in procurement has severely hit the farmers of Pachamalai, mostly tribes, who cultivate tapioca.

Tapioca has been a major crop on Pachamalai, a low mountain range in Eastern Ghats. The crop is cultivated on about 8,000 acres of land. It is cultivated predominantly in every hamlet of Thenpuranadu. The farmers are well-versed in the techniques of raising tapioca. It has been a traditional crop for several decades. The conducive atmosphere is said to be driving farmers to cultivate tapioca.

However, syndicate buying has emerged as a matter of concern among farmers. It is said that the tapioca traders of Athoor in Salem district had a network of middlemen at Pachamalai. They operate in every tribal hamlet. A section of them is said to be from the hamlets.

According to sources, the middlemen generally lure farmers to sell their produce instead of transporting it to Topsengattupatti where Farmers’ Producer Organisation has facilities to procure tapioca and other hill produce. The middlemen invariably underweigh the produce and pay farmers at their will without revealing the prevailing rates.

“We continuously educate farmers about the demerits of selling their produce to the middlemen. The members and farmers, who are associated with the FPO, have shunned the practice of selling to the middlemen. However, there are many farmers who continue to be deceived by the middlemen,” says G. Suresh, chief executive officer, Pachamalai Organic Farmers’ Producer Organisation.

He said cheating was rampant before the erection of the weighbridge at Topsengattupatti. The middlemen used to buy the entire tapioca produce before the erection of the weighbridge. Thanks to fair trade practices and transparent procurement policy, nearly 25% to 30% of tribes now defy the middlemen and sell their produce through the procurement centre of FPO. However, there were many who could not come out of the clutches of middlemen.