Hyderabad, Apr 29 (TNT): The State Government on Wednesday said that the Paddy procurement in the state is progressing at a rapid pace.
The Agriculture Department estimates that total paddy production during this Yasangi (Rabi) season will reach 14.1 million metric tonnes.
Out of this, the government has set a target to procure 9 million metric tonnes and has established procurement centres accordingly.
To ensure farmers face no inconvenience, the number of centres has been increased compared to last year. Of the proposed 8,525 centres across the state, more than 6,500 are already operational.
Among these, 2,623 centres are run under IKP, 3,278 through cooperative societies, and 353 by other cooperative organisations.
Nearly 43,000 trained staff are engaged in procurement activities across all districts.
As of Tuesday, around 0.85 million metric tonnes of paddy have been procured.
The grain arriving at procurement centres is being categorised into coarse and fine varieties before collection.
To ensure swift transportation, about 6,500 lorries have been deployed statewide, and over 0.7 million metric tonnes have already been moved to rice mills.
Facilities such as automated dryers, cleaners, moisture meters, and tarpaulins have been arranged at procurement centres to prevent inconvenience to farmers.
Additionally, around 200 million gunny bags have been stocked in advance to ensure uninterrupted procurement.
Payments to farmers are being made promptly. Paddy worth approximately ₹20.31 billion has been procured so far, of which about ₹3.23 billion has already been paid to farmers. The government has issued instructions to ensure timely payments.
Procurement of other crops is also ongoing in the state.
This season, maize production is estimated at 4.32 million metric tonnes, with 0.346 million metric tonnes procured so far, benefiting 64,779 farmers with purchases worth approximately ₹8.3069 billion.
The Agriculture Department estimates Bengal gram (chickpea) production at 0.125 million metric tonnes. So far, 30,220 metric tonnes have been procured, benefiting 15,933 farmers.
Sunflower production is estimated at 19,808 metric tonnes, with 3,492 metric tonnes procured to date from 2,512 farmers.
Across all districts, crop procurement is being carried out transparently and efficiently.
The government has made arrangements to ensure farmers receive the Minimum Support Price (MSP), along with convenient services and prompt payments.
TNT TS
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