Telangana govt procures record 64.30 lakh MT of paddy in Vanakalam season

Vanakalam procurement commenced on October 21 last year and was successfully completed after 94 days

Hyderabad: The State government has procured a record 64.30 lakh metric tonnes of paddy worth Rs.13,750 crore from 9.76 lakh farmers in the Vanakalam 2022-23 season.

The Vanakalam procurement commenced on October 21 last year and was successfully completed after 94 days. If there were any stocks left with farmers, they would also be procured till Tuesday, Civil Supplies Minister G Kamalakar said here on Saturday.

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In a meeting with officials here on Saturday, the Minister said due to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s agriculture-friendly measures, paddy procurement was registering a steady growth annually.

Ever since the procurement commenced, all measures were taken up to ensure there was no inconvenience to farmers. Considering the hardships faced by farmers from remote areas in transporting their stocks, procurement centres were established in their vicinity, he said.

As many as 7,024 procurement centres were set up this season and paddy was procured from 9.76 lakh farmers through these centres. “Already, 12,700 crore was deposited into the farmers account and the balance will be credited in a week,” Kamalakar said.

All through the procurement, there was no dearth of gunny bags as 16 crore bags were arranged well in advance. These apart, another 5.5 crore bags have also been arranged to meet any further requirements.

Though farmers had commenced Yasangi season sowing operations, those who had taken up harvesting a bit late during the Vanakalam season can sell their stocks till Tuesday, he said, appealing to the farmers to make good use of the opportunity.

During 2014-15, the Vanakalam season, 11.04 lakh metric tonnes was procured and this season it had increased to 64.30 lakh metric tonnes.

Among all districts, the highest procurement of 5.86 lakh metric tonnes was done from Nizamabad district, followed by 4.75 lakh metric tonnes from Kamareddy and 4.13 lakh metric tonnes from Nalgonda.

The Minister directed the Civil Supplies officials to expedite the custom milling of the procured stocks. He also thanked the farmers and all those were involved in successful completion of the procurement exercise.