Telangana faces warehouse crunch as Kharif harvest nears record

Telangana is set for a record Kharif harvest of 148.30 LMT from 68 lakh acres, but warehouse shortage threatens procurement. With FCI and private stocks already full, farmers, millers, and traders face storage crises, urging government intervention

Hyderabad: As farmers in the State brace for a record Kharif harvest that is expected to swell the State’s granaries, the shortage of warehouse space is threatening to impact the procurement process. With less than eight lakh metric tonnes of storage available against a gross capacity of 66.65 LMT, serious disruptions are feared.

Telangana, thanks to strides made in agriculture during the 10-year BRS regime, has emerged as the country’s top rice producer and a large supplier to the central pool. This season, cultivation has covered over 68 lakh acres. Boosted by an extended monsoon and robust irrigation from projects, it is projected to yield 148.30 LMT. Procurement targets aim for 80 LMT, with over 7,000 centres planned for paddy purchase.

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Yet, the State’s infrastructure, 29.50 LMT under the Civil Supplies Corporation and 22.61 LMT with the Food Corporation of India, has been overwhelmed with stocks held from previous seasons. FCI godowns alone hold 21.72 LMT of rice for national distribution, leaving only 0.89 LMT free. The crisis is not limited to paddy. Large harvests of pulses, millets, chickpeas, groundnuts, and even 5 LMT of central fertilisers for rabi sowing piling up at ports are in need of godown space.

Untimely rains have worsened farmers’ woes due to waterlogging of paddy stocks in districts like Nalgonda and Warangal. “It is a ticking time bomb,” lamented a member of the Telangana Rice Millers Association. Private millers, processing 20 LMT of last season’s backlog, face the same problem, while traders are urging for extra space. The State has approached the Centre on the issue and sought evacuation of 21 LMT from FCI warehouses to deficit States by providing 300 railway rakes every month.

Farmers’ organisations decry the lack of effective planning. They have been urging augmentation of storage capacity by at least 20 per cent annually to match the 8-10 per cent production growth. The Telangana State Warehousing Corporation has added 3.26 LMT with 75 new warehouses, pushing total capacity to 74 LMT, including private facilities. The procurement process will commence in a full-fledged manner in major paddy-producing districts like Nizamabad, Kamareddy, and Nalgonda this week and is expected to be extended Statewide soon.

Though the State was assured of adequate rakes for movement of paddy stocks, they remain elusive so far.

• Telangana anticipates 148.30 LMT of paddy from 68 lakh acres
• State procurement has been targeted for 80 LMT
• Total storage capacity in the State is 66.65 LMT
• Less than 8 LMT space is vacant while a bumper harvest is expected
• FCI holds 21.72 LMT in the State against its total capacity of 22.61 LMT