VIJAYAWADA: Food and Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar on Tuesday reviewed the ongoing Rabi paddy procurement and addressed the media at the department headquarters in Kanuru, outlining the government’s preparedness, achievements, and challenges.
The minister said procurement operations are progressing at record levels across districts, with 19.70 lakh metric tonnes of paddy already purchased this season, compared to 16.33 lakh tonnes last year and just 10.04 lakh tonnes in 2023–24. This represents an 18 percent increase over last year and 57 percent higher than procurement during the previous government’s tenure. Payments worth Rs 4,600 crore have been credited to the accounts of 1.90 lakh farmers within 24 hours of procurement, he added.
Manohar highlighted that the Centre’s approval to purchase 2 lakh tonnes of boiled rice has provided relief to farmers cultivating ‘bondalu’ varieties. He noted that while normal paddy varieties yield 20-25 percent broken rice, non-preferred varieties such as 1010 and PR126 are producing 40-50 percent broken rice, creating difficulties in NTR district where these were widely sown.
Despite earlier advisories against these varieties, the government is procuring them this year to avoid distress.
The minister said 8.93 crore gunny bags have been arranged, GPS tracking has been introduced for 18,000 transport vehicles, and bank guarantee norms have been eased.