Siddipet: Harish Rao assures farmers of MSP for soaked paddy 

During his visit to the Siddipet Cotton Yard, farmers complained they were worried whether the govt would purchase paddy soaked in rain.

Siddipet: Reiterating Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s assurance on paddy procurement, Finance Minister T Harish Rao said the government would offer MSP to even paddy soaked in rainwater.

During his visit to the Siddipet Cotton Yard where the paddy procurement was on Wednesday, several farmers complained that they were worried whether the government would purchase the paddy soaked in rainwater. Assuring to purchase all the paddy, the Minister comforted them saying that the government would also pay Rs 10,000 compensation to the standing crops that were damaged due to untimely rains that lashed the district. Since the State was witnessing rains coupled with hailstorms and gales during April and May, Rao said the government was carrying out a study to ensure the paddy is harvested in March by guiding the farmers to take up Yasangi transplantation a month early.

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He said that the agriculture department officials would conduct awareness programmes in Rythu Vedikas to guide the paddy farmers in this regard. Stating that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was always there to support the farming fraternity, the Minister said the Chief Minister already directed the agriculture and marketing officials to procure rain-soaked paddy by offering MSP.

Additional Collector Srinivas Reddy, Marketing Committee Chairperson Macha Vijitha Venugopal Reddy and others were present.