HYDERABAD: The cultivation of fine variety of paddy was increased considerably in the state after the Congress government announced Rs 500 bonus per quintal. According to government sources, the fine variety paddy cultivation increased from 25.05 lakh acres (38% in the total paddy cultivation) in the last year to 40.44 lakh acres (61 per cent) this year.
In 2023 Kharif, paddy was cultivated in 65.94 lakh acres and 66.77 lakh acres in 2024. Last year’s production was 146 lakh tonnes and this year the government is expecting 153 lakh tonnes of paddy. The coarse variety paddy cultivation decreased to 26.33 lakh acres from 40.89 lakh acres last year. The government estimates that around 80 lakh tonnes of paddy needs to be purchased.
Already, the government opened 7,411 centres in the state and started purchases from the first week of October. In the initial days, the farmers got more than the MSP in open market and thus there was no rush at the purchasing centres. The purchases picked up from the first week of November.
The government purchased 9.58 lakh tonnes (as against 9.35 lakh tonnes of paddy purchased till date last year) of paddy from 1.41 lakh farmers. Out of this, 7.49 lakh tonnes was coarse variety and 2.09 lakh tonnes was fine variety. Besides the MSP, the government paid `33 crore additionally to the farmers towards bonus.
Tummala blames BRS and BJP
Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao declared that the government would purchase entire paddy and there was no need for farmers to get panicky.
The state’s paddy purchase was highest ever this year in the country and even surpassed Punjab, he said. The state government was purchasing the paddy duly following the guidelines of Food Corporation of India (FCI). The millers were purchasing fine variety paddy at fields itself, he said.
The Minister said that the fine rice would be supplied to welfare hostels from January onwards. Tummala alleged that the leaders of BRS and BJP were trying to mislead the farmers on paddy purchases. He appealed to them not to make farmers as scapegoats for their political motives. He assured that the Rythu Bima too would be implemented soon.
IT Minister D Sridhar Babu said that Rs 500 bonus would be paid within five to six days after purchasing the paddy. He alleged that the leaders of the BRS and BJP were shedding crocodile tears for farmers. He advised the BRS leaders not to provoke farmers and give suggestions to the government. The BRS claimed that the state’s paddy cultivation increased due to the construction of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. But, without Kaleshwaram water, the paddy production touched 155 lakh tonnes, the IT minister maintained.