KORAPUT: The officials of Civil Supply department have asked the farmers and millers of Koraput district to maintain quality of paddy and rice respectively during the kharif procurement season. At a district-level workshop on quality control of paddy and rice organised by Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (OSCSC) here, agriculture experts said that the farmers of Koraput region have been practising paddy harvesting process without considering the FAQ (Fair Average Quality) standards set by the Government. As a result, their produce fails in the quality checking conducted in different paddy mandis during procurement, they said. The experts suggested that the farmers should maintain the quality of paddy from the beginning of the harvesting. This apart, storage of paddy, use of pesticides and distribution of quality paddy seeds among beneficiaries were discussed. Sources said paddy is being cultivated in one lakh acres of land in Jeypore, Kotpad, Boipariguda, Kundra and Borrigumma for the kharif season. The paddy harvesting process would start from October onwards for which, the OSCSC is organising such workshops to create awareness among farmers and millers over quality of grains, the sources further said. Among others, Sub-Collector Kurtivas Raut, ACSO RN Nanda, GS Dash of district civil supply office, RMC and PACS officials and leader of rice millers’ association Gopal Panda were present.