Narayanpet: The paddy and cotton harvesting season is in full swing, and the Telangana State government has begun the process of buying crops from farmers. To help local farmers sell their produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) set by the government, they have opened procurement and purchase centers in various villages and mandals around Narayanpet district.
However, a new challenge has come up for the authorities. Farmers from the neighboring state of Karnataka are bringing their crops to these centers to take advantage of the higher prices offered in Telangana.
In Karnataka, the MSP for paddy is lower than in Telangana. Telangana offers an additional Rs 500 bonus on “RNR fine paddy and other Fine Rice varieties of Paddy.” This has led many farmers from border areas in Karnataka to cross into Telangana through the Krishna Check Post to sell their produce at a better price.
To handle this issue, Narayanpet District Collector Sikta Patnaik has ordered strict checks at the border checkpoints. She has instructed officials to make sure that crops from outside Telangana are not sold in the state’s markets.
On Tuesday, the District Collector visited several government procurement centers in Maktal constituency. She personally inspected the purchase process at a cotton mill procurement center in Tipras Palli village, as well as paddy centers in Maganur and Gudeballur. During her visits, she checked vehicle entry records, moisture content of the crops, Aadhaar-linked fingerprint authentication, and the OTP verification process for farmers.
The Collector stressed the importance of transparency and told the staff at the procurement centers to follow strict rules and avoid any manipulations. Some farmers asked for moisture checks for wheat in the field, but she explained that the grain must be brought to the purchase centers for testing.
To ensure that the Rs 500 bonus goes only to local farmers, the Collector has also instructed officials at the Krishna border check post to increase monitoring efforts and prevent non-local farmers from benefiting.
District Agriculture Officer John Sudhakar, Tehsildar Krishna Dayakar Reddy, Market Secretary Bharti, and other revenue staff were present during the inspection. They are all working together to ensure that the procurement season goes smoothly for Telangana’s farmers.
