HYDERABAD: Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Saturday said while farmers should not take up paddy cultivation in Yasangi, those who had a tie-up with seed companies or millers, or were growing paddy for self-consumption, could raise paddy at their own risk.
During a review meeting on Saturday, the Chief Secretary said the government of India and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had decided not to procure parboiled rice from Telangana at all. “However, paddy grown in Telangana in Yasangi season is suitable only for parboiled rice, considering the seasonal conditions. Therefore, it is pertinent that farmers should not take up paddy cultivation in Yasangi” he said.
Somesh Kumar also directed the District Collectors to ensure that paddy procurement happens smoothly. The Collectors were authorised to open new paddy procurement centres (PPCs) if required. He said certain instances of paddy from outside the State paddy being brought to the PPCs had been noticed, and the Collectors and SPs/CPs were directed to prevent the same.
“It will act against the interest of Telangana farmers. It is known that the Central government has allotted only 40 lakh tonnes of rice as target for procurement during Vanakalam (Kharif) in 2021,” the Chief Secretary said, while holding a video conference with district officials on procurement.
Min pitches shift to oil palm
“The solution for the present problems is a switchover to other crops, as the Central government has a stubborn attitude,” Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar said in Karimnagar on Saturday. He wanted farmers to take up the cultivation of other crops, including oil palm. Kamalakar himself, who has so far raised paddy in his farmhouse, has now decided to shift to oil palm. He converted the agriculture land so that it would be suitable for the cultivation of oil palm.
The Minister said 57 plants could be raised in one acre, which would yield 10 tonnes of oil palm fruits, and farmers could make a profit of around Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 per acre. He said till Friday, the government had purchased 20.5 lakh tonnes of paddy worth Rs 3,925 crore from 3.27 lakh farmers.
Kishan: Centre has commitment
Meanwhile, at a BJP party meeting on Saturday, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy pointed out that the Central government had procured Rs 3,600 crore worth of rice from the State in 2014-15, and procured Rs 26,600 crore of it in 2020-21. The Centre has been procuring paddy from the State, Reddy said.
TRS dharna misled public: Union Min
Union Minister Kishan Reddy alleged that the recent Maha Dharna by the TRS had misled the farmers and the public, and clarified that paddy would be procured as per the MoU between the Food Corporation of India and the State government
