Unseasonal rains: Telangana appeals to FCI yet again to relax FAQ norms

State government has yet again appealed to the Food Corporation of India to relax the Fair Average Quality norms

Hyderabad: Considering the losses suffered by farmers due to unseasonal rains, the State government has yet again appealed to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to relax the Fair Average Quality (FAQ) norms, especially on relaxing the permitted moisture content to 20 per cent from the existing 17 percent while procuring paddy.

This was informed by Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar to rice millers during a review meeting at the Secretariat here on Monday. The rice millers said the repeatedly rain-soaked paddy was not conducive for milling. Apart from discolouring, it was also resulting in higher percentage of broken rice in the stocks. With the FCI rejecting such stocks, huge losses were being incurred, they told the Minister.

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The Minister said already a letter was written to the FCI to relax the FAQ norms for the benefit of farmers. “Another appeal is also being made to the FCI in this regard,” he said.

As per directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to ensure that farmers do not suffer losses, the administration was taking up all alternate measures, he said.

Every passing year, Telangana was continuing to produce record paddy. However, this Yasangi season due to unseasonal rains, farming community had suffered losses, he said. Considering the farmers’ plight, the Civil Supplies department was taking up paddy procurement as a challenge, he said, urging all stakeholders, including rice millers to extend all cooperation and support the farming community.

Despite the adverse conditions this season, the State government on an average was procuring one lakh metric tonnes a day. On Monday alone, 1.61lakh metric tonnes of paddy were procured. Last season, till this day, 8 lakh metric tonnes was procured and this season already 15.38 lakh metric tonnes was procured from the farmers, he said.

“These stocks, which are worth of nearly Rs.3161 crore are procured through 6087 procurement farmers and from 1.07 lakh farmers” Kamalakar said.