About 58.5% of it comes from only 10 districts
Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation (TSCSC) has purchased about 92 lakh tonnes of paddy worth ₹17,300 crore at minimum support price from about 15 lakh farmers during the recent Rabi (Yasangi) procurement season.
Chairman of the Corporation M. Srinivas Reddy stated here on Tuesday that the increase in paddy procurement in the recent Rabi season was 594% compared to the quantity purchased during the 2014-15 Rabi season. Since formation of the State in 2014, the State government had procured 4.84 crore tonnes of paddy worth ₹84,000 crore from farmers.
Since 2014-15 to 2019-20, ₹1,029 crore commission was paid to Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP), primary agriculture credit cooperative societies (PACS), district cooperative marketing societies (DCMS), Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC), Hyderabad Agricultural Cooperative Association (HACA) and other agencies for procurement of paddy from farmers on behalf of the Civil Supplies Corporation.
“Earlier, the production of food crops used to be higher in the Kharif season compared to the Rabi season but the situation has changed now. Rabi season is yielding more production and the paddy and other crops production during the recent season is an indication. In 2014-15, the paddy procurement during the Rabi seasdon was only 13.24 lakh tonnes and in 2020-21 Rabi season it is 92 lakh tonnes,” Mr. Srinivas Reddy explained.
The Rabi procurement commenced during the first week of April and the exercise continued for about two-and-a-half months by opening 6,968 purchase centres. All the purchase centre were closed since the procurement was completed, the TSCSC Chairman said.
Procurement of paddy during the recent Rabi seaons was higher by 28 lakh tonnes compared to the previous Rabi season. The procurement target during the recent season was 80 lakh tonnes but the paddy purchases were 13% higher (12 lakh tonnes) by spending about ₹2,000 crore for gunny sacks, transportation and commission in addition to ₹17,300 crore for purchase of paddy.
Mr. Srinivas Reddy explained that procurement during the recent season was higher by 100% to 225% compared to the targets in 23 districts. The procurement was 58.5% of the from 10 districts which contributed the most. The procurement was higher by 125% in Jogulamba-Gadwal district followed by Narayanpet (95%), Rangareddy (83%), Nirmal (44%), Warangal Rural (64%), Sangareddy (32%), Jayashankar-Bhupalapally (33%) and Vikarabad (44%) districts.
During the combined Andhra Pradesh dispensation, the rice for State’s needs such as public distribution and others used to come from State like Punjab and others and on many occasions they were not consumable too. However, now the rice produced in the State was not only meeting the demands within but also supplying to other States too and 55% of the total procurement of rice by the Food Corporation of India last year was an ample indication.
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