Telangana govt to procure entire paddy, cotton crops produced in Vaanakalam

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who held a high-level meeting at Pragathi Bhavan here, instructed the officials concerned to facilitate paddy procurement through more than 6,000 procurement centres across the State.

Hyderabad: In an announcement that will bring cheer to the farming community, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday declared that the State government will purchase the entire paddy produced in the State during the current Vaanakalam season. This is the second consecutive season that the State government will be procuring the entire paddy produced in the State, having purchased over one crore tonnes of paddy last year.

Besides, the Chief Minister also assured procurement of the entire cotton crop through Cotton Corporation of India. “The objective is to support farmers, from investment to sale of their produce, and ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) during the pandemic,” he said.

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Chandrashekhar Rao, who held a high-level meeting at Pragathi Bhavan here, instructed the officials concerned to facilitate paddy procurement through more than 6,000 procurement centres across the State. He asked them to ensure that farmers do not face any difficulties during the procurement process. Paddy will be procured in full through IKP Centers, Agricultural Cooperative Societies and the Marketing department.

“The State government will pay MSP of Rs 1,888 per quintal for A-grade variety and Rs 1,868 per quintal for B-grade variety if the moisture content in paddy is less than 17 per cent. We request farmers not to rush to sell their produce for a lower price,” he said. He also urged farmers not to go in for any distress sale.

The total area under cultivation this Vaanakalam season was about 1.34 crore acres, with paddy being cultivated in around 52.77 lakh acres, cotton in 60.36 lakh acres and red gram in about 10.78 lakh acres.

Chandrashekhar Rao wanted the farmers to bring dried paddy without husk to avail the MSP, and not to bring paddy with high moisture content. He said that the guidelines on paddy procurement will be issued in a couple of days and that the Department of Agriculture, Marketing and Civil Supplies should work in coordination in this regard.

Stating that arrangements were being made to purchase the entire cotton produce through CCI, he said: “We are in constant consultation with the CCI in this regard. The authorities should clarify any doubts raised by farmers through the call centre from time to time,” he said.

Paddy procurement in the State increased by 100 times since the State formation. In 2014-15, about 13.24 lakh tons of paddy was purchased from 2.54 lakh farmers through 1,690 procurement centres, which shot up to around 37 lakh tonnes from 6.78 lakh farmers through 3,509 centres in 2018-19. In 2019-20, the State government procure a total of 1.12 crore tonnes of paddy including 47.5 lakh tonnes during Vaanakalam (Kharif) season and 65.5 lakh tonnes during Yasangi (Rabi) season. The State government procured the entire paddy crop of Yasangi season brought to more than 6,500 procurement centres across the State during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The State government implemented the regulated cropping system this year, mandating farmers to grow cotton on 60 lakh acres and paddy on about 40 lakh acres. According to the Agriculture Action Plan for 2020-21, the State estimates a paddy production of 2.54 crore tonnes in the two seasons.

Ministers S Niranjan Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar, Rythu Bandhu State president Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, MLA C Laxmareddy, Government Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy, TESCOB Chairman Konduru Ravindra Rao, Pedapalli Zilla Parishad chairman Putta Madhu, CMO Secretary Smita Sabharwal, Agriculture Secretary B Janardhan Reddy, Civil Supplies commissioner Anil Kumar, Marketing Director Lakshmibai and others participated.

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