VIJAYAWADA: The State government will announce the dates for purchasing paddy and issue coupons to every farmer to procure the crop to avoid difficulties for them during the pandemic, said Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao Nani.
In a press release issued here on Wednesday, the minister said that so far 1,66,814 coupons have been issued. The produced grains will be purchased by the paddy purchasing centre staff from the farmers as per the date mentioned in the coupon and weigh them before shifting it to the designated mills. After weighing the grains, a purchase receipt will be issued to the farmer and the amount mentioned in the receipt will be credited into the farmer’s bank account, he said.
Supervisors have been appointed for the 20 purchasing centres at the district and field level by the concerned departments to address the problems faced by the farmers during the pandemic. Moisture meters have been arranged at each Rythu Bharosa Kendram (RBK) to check the moisture content. All necessary steps have been taken to procure 45 lakh metric tonnes of grain for the 2020-21 harvest season, the minister said. So far, 13.40 lakh metric tonnes of grain worth `2,510 crore has been procured from 1,15,813 farmers.
“We expect that 25 lakh metric tonnes of grain will reach the purchasing centres by May 31. To this end, 7,706 RBKs have been connected to 3,936 grain purchasing centres and details of 3,01,540 farmers have been registered for paddy purchase through village agricultural assistants. Grain samples are examined at the RBKs and arrangements were made to procure grain at the farmers’ doorstep,” the Civil Supplies Minister said.
The middlemen system was eradicated by registering the details of land and crop cultivation related to the farmer online through crop (e-crop) service, comparing the details at the time of purchasing the grain. Other states like Telangana have adopted the grain procurement at the doorstep undertaken by the State government, he claimed.