440 paddy procurement centres to be set up in erstwhile Khammam

Khammam: With the State government deciding to procure entire paddy produced in Vanakalam season, officials in erstwhile Khammam have begun preparations for the procurement of the produce. According to officials, it was planned to procure about 6.50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in Khammam and Kothagudem districts. In Khammam district paddy was cultivated in about […]

Khammam: With the State government deciding to procure entire paddy produced in Vanakalam season, officials in erstwhile Khammam have begun preparations for the procurement of the produce.

According to officials, it was planned to procure about 6.50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in Khammam and Kothagudem districts. In Khammam district paddy was cultivated in about 2.64 lakh acres in 21 mandals and 5.48 lakh metric tonnes yield was expected.

Of the total produce, 8,852 tonnes would be used as seed and millers would be purchasing around 30,000 tonnes paddy directly. The Civil Supplies Corporation, the nodal agency for paddy procurement would be procuring around 4.50 lakh tonnes.

Steps were being taken to set up as many as 246 paddy procurement centres across the district. It was said that around 1.12 crore gunny bags would be required and 80.19 lakh bags were available at present.

There would be 152 Primary Agricultural Co-operative Society (PACS) centres, 29 District Cooperative Marketing Society (DCMS) centres and 60 centres would be set up under Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) to procure paddy besides five agriculture markets, officials said.

Similarly in Kothagudem district paddy was cultivated in 1.76 lakh acres and it was being planned to procure two lakh tonnes paddy in Vanakalam season, said Civil Supplies District Manager Prasad.

He said that a total of 194 procurement centres would be set up and of them 130 would be DCMS centres, 14 IKP centres, 10 marketing department centres and 40 (Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) centres.

It might be noted that the government had announced that a Grade A variety of paddy would be paid a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,960 per tonne while the common variety paddy would be purchased for Rs 1,940 per tonne.

At a time when there was an uncertainty over paddy procurement the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s decision has come as a great relief to the farming community in the State and the farmers were happy, said Rythu Bandhu Samithi convener N Venkateshwar Rao.

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