Hyderabad: The ongoing procurement of Vaanakalam (kharif) paddy crop this year has already registered a sharp increase of 30 per cent over last year’s figure of purchase till December 8, this despite the Covid impact.
Till Tuesday, officials procured 29.5 lakh tonnes of paddy worth about Rs 5,568.16 crore, against 20.83 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last Vaanakalam. The target set for this monsoon season is at least 85 lakh tonnes through 6,298 procurement centres opened across the State.
Of the total paddy purchased so far by the Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation (TSCSC), about 20.93 lakh tonnes are of coarse variety and the remaining — 8.56 lakh tonnes — of fine variety. About 28.75 lakh tonnes have already been shifted to mills. Nizamabad district witnessed the highest paddy purchase with about 5.43 lakh tonnes procured so far, followed by Kamareddy (3.67 lakh tonnes).
As against about Rs 5,568 crore worth paddy purchased from more than 6.61 lakh farmers, about Rs 4,098.52 crore has been paid to around 3.66 lakh farmers. Similarly, about 1.79 lakh tonnes of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) has been delivered to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as also the State Civil Supplies Corporation, while arrangements are being made to deliver another 17.97 lakh tonnes.
With paddy cultivated in about 52.77 lakh acres during the Vaanakalam season, a whopping yield of 1.25 crore tonnes is expected. The State is all set to create new records with paddy production expected to breach the one-crore-tonne mark in a single season for the first time, registering an increase of 33.36 lakh tonnes over last Vaanakalam’s production of 91.74 lakh tonnes.
The paddy is being purchased at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,888 per quintal for A-grade paddy as per the guidelines of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Though Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao promised to release an additional incentive over and above the MSP to paddy farmers in the State, the same has not been done due to the restrictions imposed by the FCI, which has refused to purchase paddy procured for more than the MSP. The State government has already assured purchase of paddy grains discoloured due to damage caused by the recent rains.
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