Telangana government taking steps to address procurement of farm produce says Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy

Hyderabad: State Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said that the State government has taken a series of issues ahead of the harvesting season as well as preparing for the ensuing Kharif.

Speaking to The Hans India, he said, "We don't foresee many problems as the harvesting is stretched over four to five weeks."

However, scarcity of hamalis is an issue for the loading and unloading, transporting to the rice mills etc. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has already directed the Chief Secretary and the problem will be solved in two or three days, he said.

Regarding the shortage of gunny bags for the procurement of paddy, he said, "We need about 22 crore gunny bags to meet the procurement of about 1.20 crore metric tonnes of paddy and maize.

Out of this, 40 per cent gunny bag stocks are available. We have asked the Centre to give relaxation to the jute industry, as the majority of the stocks of gunny bags come from West Bengal."

The Centre has also suggested an alternative to use HDPE plastic bags to lift paddy, provided if the paddy is not kept in them for a longer time as the paddy might damage. The Chief Minister has also asked the Civil Supplies department to take a suitable decision but ensure that paddy is not damaged.

That apart steps were taken to procure old gunny bags, he said. Above all other issues, the State is saved due to the foresight of CM and building up 21 lakh metric tonnes of godown space with NABARD assistance.

Further, the Finance department was also asked to come up with a project on adding additional godown space, he said. To meet the immediate need and as the schools and colleges were closed, the district collectors were asked to identify suitable spaces in them to store the procured paddy.

While taking steps to address the procurement, the State has already geared up to ensure that farmers are provided with seeds and fertilisers for the ensuing Kharif.

The State needs about 30 lakh quintals of seed for both Rabi and Kharif, 11 lakh metric tonnes of urea and 12 lakh metric tonnes of complex fertilizers.