Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has urged the Centre to increase the procurement target of 73 lakh tonnes of rice by another 10 lakh tonnes to enable farmers dispose of their paddy at Minimum Support Price (MSP).
In a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the Chief Minister said that AP had a bumper crop of paddy this year and the production of rice was estimated at 144.13 lakh tonnes.
After providing for personal consumption, wages in kind and seed purposes, the marketable surplus was around 110 lakh tonnes. Of this 75 per cent levy would work out to 83 lakh tonnes of rice. He said the Government of India had fixed 73 lakh tonnes and already 64 lakh tonnes had been achieved.
Production up
He said that this year, the production of rice in rabi had gone up by eight lakh tonnes and the farmers were having substantial quantity with them and were looking for favourable market to the produce.
In spite of the fact that the government was mopping up the paddy at MSP through purchase centres, the maximum quantity was mopped up by millers as the farmers preferred to offer to the latter.
Referring to the announcement made by him earlier that the quantity of rice being supplied to BPL families at subsidised rate would be increased from 20 kg to 30 kg, he said that it would take effect from October 2, 2009, and this would necessitate additional quantity of 16 lakh tonnes of raw rice per annum. The increase in the target would achieve the twin objectives of providing remunerative price for paddy and at the same time procuring adequate quantity of raw rice for State’s Public Distribution System.
In a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the Chief Minister said that AP had a bumper crop of paddy this year and the production of rice was estimated at 144.13 lakh tonnes.
After providing for personal consumption, wages in kind and seed purposes, the marketable surplus was around 110 lakh tonnes. Of this 75 per cent levy would work out to 83 lakh tonnes of rice. He said the Government of India had fixed 73 lakh tonnes and already 64 lakh tonnes had been achieved.
Production up
He said that this year, the production of rice in rabi had gone up by eight lakh tonnes and the farmers were having substantial quantity with them and were looking for favourable market to the produce.
In spite of the fact that the government was mopping up the paddy at MSP through purchase centres, the maximum quantity was mopped up by millers as the farmers preferred to offer to the latter.
Referring to the announcement made by him earlier that the quantity of rice being supplied to BPL families at subsidised rate would be increased from 20 kg to 30 kg, he said that it would take effect from October 2, 2009, and this would necessitate additional quantity of 16 lakh tonnes of raw rice per annum. The increase in the target would achieve the twin objectives of providing remunerative price for paddy and at the same time procuring adequate quantity of raw rice for State’s Public Distribution System.
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