CM KCR writes to PM Modi, seeks clarity on paddy procurement
Hyderabad: With the sowing of paddy crop for the Rabi (Yasangi) season fast approaching, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to address the confusion prevailing over the rice procurement in the State. He wanted the Union government to come out with an annual procurement plan well ahead so that the State can plan its agricultural calendar.
In his letter written on Wednesday, the Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to direct the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to enhance the rice procurement target from 40 lakh tonnes to 90 per cent of entire production for the ongoing Kharif (Vaanakalam) 2021-22, as was done in Punjab. He also sought confirmation on the targets from Telangana State during ensuing Yasangi season. He wanted the FCI to complete the procurement of the balance 5 lakh tonnes rice produced in Yasangi 2020-21.
Chandrashekhar Rao explained that the FCI which was mandated to ensure food security for the people by maintaining the buffer stocks and supplying rice/wheat through the public distribution system, was following certain policies which were creating confusion among farmers and also the State governments. “The target of rice procurement is not fixed for the entire year in one go. Further, even through the production is increasing year-on-year, the procurement is not keeping pace,” he said.
Though the rice production in Telangana during Kharif 2020-21 was 55.75 lakh tonnes, the procurement was only 32.66 lakh tonnes which is 59 per cent of the production. This was far less than the 78 per cent procured in Kharif 2019-20. As a result, the State government was unable to implement a rational cropping pattern.
To clear these confusions and fix the appropriate target for procurement, the Chief Minister explained that he had personally met Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on September 25 and 26 this year, seeking to fix the annual procurement targets immediately. However, no policy decision was taken or communicated to the State in this regard even after 50 days since the meeting.
Further, Chandrashekhar Rao explained that since the formation of the State in 2014, Telangana achieved tremendous growth in Agriculture sector, due to a series of policies and measures taken by the State government to strengthen the sector. “Due to the enormous increase in irrigation facilities, Telangana is not only able to meet its food grains requirement but has become a huge grain surplus State. The farmers of Telangana are now able to produce for the rest of the country,” he stated.
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