Paddy procurement for Vaanakalam (Kharif) 2020-21 came to an end as the State government sets a new benchmark. Nearly 48.89 lakh tonnes of paddy was purchased from over 11 lakh farmers which are the highest ever for the Vaanakalam season since the State formation. The State government procured 47.08 lakh tonnes through 3,670 paddy procurement centers during the last Vaanakalam season in 2019-20.
In a statement on Saturday, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar said the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was coming true with increased area coming under cultivation in the State even as paddy production is escalating every year. He said the Civil Supplies department too increased the paddy procurement which was completed successfully for the Vaanakalam season 2020-21 in a smooth manner in line with the increasing paddy yields.
“We purchased 48.89 lakh tonnes of paddy from over 11 lakh farmers through 6,506 purchasing centers and deposited Rs 9,086 crore directly in the farmers’ bank accounts for the paddy worth Rs 9,224 crore. The remaining amount will be deposited within a couple of days,” he said. Of the 48.89 lakh tonnes of paddy, around 29.04 lakh tonnes is coarse variety and the remaining 19.85 lakh tonnes is fine variety. The entire produce was purchased from farmers at a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 1,888 per quintal.
“The Chief Minister has proved wrong all those detractors who claimed that agriculture cannot be possible on the Deccan Plateau and has shown that this land can produce more than one crore tonnes of paddy every year. The Civil Supplies Department had procured a whopping 1.11 crore tonnes of paddy in 2019-20, making Telangana the second-largest paddy purchaser in the country,” the Minister said. By cultivating paddy in about 53 lakh acres, Telangana has been positioned in the top spot in the country in terms of paddy cultivation during the monsoon season.
