Telangana confident of meeting Centre’s Yasangi paddy procurement target

As per the Agriculture Department’s estimates, this season the production would be about 1.30 crore metric tonnes

Hyderabad: Telangana continues to be among the leading producers of paddy in the country, with the Centre’s enhanced procurement target for the State this Yasangi season indicating the huge growth in paddy cultivation and production here.

Last Yasangi season, the Centre had set a procurement target of 60 lakh metric tonnes. However, this season, the target has been increased to 80 lakh metric tonnes.

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As per the Agriculture Department’s estimates, this season the production would be about 1.30 crore metric tonnes. Going by the production, achieving the Centre’s target of 80 lakh metric tonnes was not a task at all, said a senior official from the Civil Supplies department.

Depending on the price for their stocks, especially fine rice varieties, farmers tend to sell the stocks in open markets, the official said.

Year after year, the paddy yields were increasing drastically in the State. In 2014-15, Rs.3,392 crore was spent towards paddy procurement and in 2020-21 financial year, this was increased to Rs.26,600 crore. This substantiates the rise in paddy cultivation and yields in the State.

On Friday, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar reviewed the procurement this season and said Telangana was leading in terms of procurement during Yasangi season in the country.

Since the commencement of procurement on April 11 this season, about 90,000 tonnes of paddy have already been purchased from farmers by extending the Minimum Support Price. The total worth of paddy procured till date is Rs.186 crore, he said.

Of the planned 7,100 procurement centres, till Friday, 1,131 centres have been opened and procurement as under progress.

Due to the effective implementation of Rythu Bandhu, provision of 24 hours power and water supply, the acreage in the State is steadily increasing with every passing year.
“As per the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the entire stocks produced by the farmers will be procured,” Kamalakar said.

In the wake of unseasonal rains and to avoid any inconvenience to farmers, all arrangements, especially provision of tarpaulins, gunny bags, moisture machines and hamalis are made at the procurement centres, he said, adding farmers should get fair average quality paddy to the centres.