TNI Bureau: BJD MP Dr. Sasmit Patra raised serious concerns about the plight of Odisha’s farmers during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, calling for immediate central intervention.

Speaking on behalf of BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Sasmit Patra said farming has become a high-risk and low-return occupation due to rising input costs, climate losses, broken procurement systems and delayed crop insurance. He said these problems are severely affecting the 4.5 crore people of Odisha.

He highlighted the collapse of paddy procurement, stating that mandis have become dysfunctional and lifting delays have forced farmers to sell paddy at prices far below the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Patra also drew attention to the issue of “Katni-Chatni,” alleging illegal deductions at procurement centres, lack of transparent weighing systems and weak grievance redressal, which he said were exploiting small and marginal farmers.

He further said farmers are being denied full MSP due to arbitrary procurement limits and diversion to private millers, making MSP “exist only on paper.” He also raised concerns over fertiliser shortages during peak sowing seasons, which he said have increased cultivation costs and reduced yields.

Finally, Patra pointed to the failure of crop insurance schemes and urged the government to take urgent action to protect farmers’ interests.