HYDERABAD: For the first time in the history of Telangana and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, paddy procurement in the State has crossed 1 crore metric tonnes (MT) mark.Paddy procurement in Vaanakalam (monsoon crop) and Yasangi (winter crop) seasons accounted for 47 lakh MT and 65 lakh MT amounting to a total of 1.12 crore MT.
Six years into the formation of State, Telangana has witnessed 367 per cent increase in the paddy procurement, said Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy. Addressing the media, Reddy said, “The State is transforming into the ‘rice bowl of India’ and it has become possible only with the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who rolled out farmer welfare schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Beema, round-the-clock free power supply for agricultural sector, and new irrigation projects, minimum support price (MSP).”
A bar chart provided by the department shows continuous rise in paddy procurement each year. During 2014-15, the government procured 24.25 lakh MT, which was doubled in 2016-17 with 53.69 lakh MT. Again in 2018-19, the procurement increased to 77.41 lakh MT. Despite Covid crisis, the State has achieved a new record by procuring 1.12 crore MT. The current Yasangi season has seen an increase of 76 per cent against the previous Yasangi season.
Pointing out that in a record, paddy was cultivated in 39 lakh acres, Reddy said, “During the current season, Civil Supplies Department has procured 65 lakh MT of paddy, and millers procured 12 lakh MT. Another 15 lakh MT was fine rice, which farmers kept to meet their needs and 6 MT for sowing.”
Talking about the adverse conditions during lockdown, he said, “We had only 9 crore gunny bags against the requirement of 18 crore bags during lockdown 1. We managed to obtain the bags in time.” During the current season, the department had set up 6,408 procurement centres across the State.
‘TS becoming rice bowl of India’
“The State is transforming into the ‘rice bowl of India’ and it has become possible only with the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who rolled out farmer welfare schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Beema, round-the-clock free power supply for agricultural sector, and new irrigation projects, and MSP,” said Mareddy Srinivas Reddy, Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman