Karimnagar: Despite the lockdown, paddy procurement is going on at a brisk pace by the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) in erstwhile Karimnagar district without subjecting farmers to any discomfort.
The Karimnagar District Cooperative Central Bank opened 866 procurement centres in Karimnagar district (231), Jagtial (252), Rajanna-Sircilla (162) and Peddapalli (221). So far, they have procured 36.98 lakh quintals of paddy worth Rs 698.29 crore and benefitted 45,082 farmers in the erstwhile district.
To assess the procurement, NAFSCOB Chairman Konduru Ravinder Rao made a quick visit to several procurement centres in Gambhiraopeta and Yellareddypet of Rajanna-Sircilla district on Thursday. He interacted with farmers and enquired about the procurement process and the labour force required for loading and transporting paddy.
Expressing satisfaction over the smooth procurement of paddy even during the lockdown, Ravinder Rao said farmers are comfortable with the facilities provided by the government at the centres adhering to Covid norms.
Farmers are only worried about unseasonal rains and hailstorms, he said, adding that officials had provided adequate tarpaulins to them. He also said bank payments are being made to farmers within three days of procurement.
The NAFSCOB Chairman also inspected DCCB branches in Gambhiraopeta, Yellareddypet and Sircilla headquarters and interacted with bankers and customers about new business hours (8 am to 12 pm) due to the lockdown.
Slow payments in Bhupalpally, Mulugu
Warangal: A massive 2,48,079 tonnes of paddy was purchased from 41,222 farmers in erstwhile Warangal district till May 12 for Yasangi 2020-21. They were paid Rs 91.29 crore for their produce.
The procurement centres are being run by IKP, PACS, Marketing Department, ODCMS and DCCB in the six districts carved out of the erstwhile Warangal district. Meanwhile, payments to the farmers in Mulugu and Bhupalpally districts seem to be getting delayed. While 8,190 tonnes of paddy was purchased in Bhupalpally district from 1,195 farmers, they were paid only Rs 0.65 crore. Similarly, only Rs 0.90 crore was paid against 16,706 tonnes procured from 2,098 farmers in Mulugu, according to official sources.
Rain plays spoilsport in Nalgonda
Nalgonda: About 4,70,038 tonnes of paddy was purchased from farmers in Nalgonda district till Thursday through 376 procurement centres managed by IKP groups and PACS. Rains in the last couple of days slowed down the procurement a bit since the harvested crops got wet.
For the paddy purchased, Rs 335.97 crore was deposited in the bank accounts of 22,994 farmers. Superintendent of Police AV Ranganath instructed their personnel not to stop lorries shifting paddy to mills from procurement centres. The district authorities have also decided to continue the procurement till June.
Around 2L tonnes procured in erstwhile Khammam
Khammam: About 1,95,366 tonnes of paddy was procured in erstwhile Khammam as on Thursday.
In Khammam, around 1,71,618 tonnes was procured from 17,097 farmers so far against the proposed 4.5 lakh tonnes. As many as 266 procurement centres have been set up while 263 are functional. The value of the paddy purchased is Rs 323.87 crore, of which 119.60 crore was paid to farmers. Of the paddy procured so far, 1,64,347 tonnes was grade-A coarse variety, said Civil Supplies Corporation officials.
In Kothagudem district, 23,748 tonnes was procured so far from 2,668 farmers against the targetted 90,000 tonnes. While 151 centres have been set up, 95 centres are functional. Of the Rs 44.59 crore payments to be made, Rs 19.67 crore was paid to farmers. About 11,408 tonnes of fine variety and 12,341 tonnes of coarse variety was procured in the district, officials said.
70% procurement done in Mancherial
Mancherial: Mancherial District Civil Supplies Officer A Prem Kumar said 84,000 tonnes of paddy has been procured so far against the target of 1.20 lakh tonnes, indicating an achievement of 70 per cent. He said 250 procurement centres were set up of which 240 are operational.
Prem Kumar said staffers are following Covid-19 guidelines during the procurement.
As per the data provided by the department, paddy was grown in 2,18,915 acres in the composite Adilabad district — Mancherial (1.10 lakh acres), Nirmal (90,000 acres), and Kumram Bheem Asifabad (15,600 acres). A total of 3,99,537 tonnes is expected to arrive at 472 centres this season.
Nizamabad stands second in procurement: Minister
Nizamabad: Around 4.48 lakh tonnes of paddy has been purchased so far through 433 purchasing centres in Nizamabad against the targetted 6.68 lakh tonnes, meaning 67% of the target has been met.
A total of Rs 498 crore has been credited into farmers’ accounts while 4,38,000 tonnes was sent to rice mills.
Housing Minister Prashanth Reddy directed civil supplies and revenue officials to speed up the procurement. He said Nizamabad stood second in the procurement and payments.
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .