Hyderabad: The Telangana Civil Supplies Department procured a record 47.56 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) compared to 41.27 LMT this time last year. The farmers of the state pointed to the Rs 500 bonus and said that it had a positive effect on the price of paddy.
So far, the department has paid Rs 10,252 crore for the purchase of 47.56 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Out of this, 28.35 LMT is of thick variety and 19.21 is of sweet variety. Paddy was purchased from 897 thousand farmers. 591 crore bonus has been paid so far.
Officials of the department said that most of the purchases will be completed by the first week of January. The department has opened 8,318 paddy procurement centers (PPCs) more than the 6,645 opened in the last Kharif season.
NG Venkat, a farmer from Chittanoor village in Marikal mandal of Narayanapet district, said he had given about 300 quintals of paddy to PPC. ‘I gave rice to the government because the private traders were cheating. The government should speed up the payment of paddy and bonus.”
Another farmer of the same village V. Raju has chosen to cultivate good paddy and thick varieties during Rabi. But not all farmers want to sell to the government which insists on 17 percent moisture content and various other parameters for the purchase of paddy.
G. Rami Reddy, a farmer of the same village, said that because it takes time and labor to bring rice according to the prescribed standards, he chose to dry the produce and sell it in the open market. He added that the climate also influences their choices.
Agreeing with him is NL Prasad, a farmer from Ranampally village in Rudrur mandal of Nizamabad district. “When trying to get rid of the cold, the weight of a 70 kg bag of paddy is reduced by 8 to 9 kg. If there is no facility to protect the paddy from rain, if it rains, the price of paddy in the open market will decrease by 200 rupees.
He said that if it rains continuously, the price will fall further, so farmers sell to traders to avoid uncertainty.