Telangana Sees Big Growth in Fine Paddy Production
Telangana has seen a large increase in the production of fine paddy varieties. The state government’s decision to give a bonus of Rs 500 for fine paddy has led to positive results.
During the 2023 monsoon season, paddy was cultivated on 65.94 lakh acres. This year (2024), the area under paddy cultivation has grown to 66.77 lakh acres. Last year, the paddy yield was around 146 lakh metric tonnes, but this year, it is expected to increase to 153 lakh metric tonnes.
The government had announced that a minimum support price (MSP) would be given, along with a Rs 500 bonus for fine rice varieties. This led to a 61% increase in the area of fine rice cultivation compared to last year. In 2023, 25.05 lakh acres (38%) of the paddy cultivated was fine rice, while this year, it increased to 40.44 lakh acres (61%). On the other hand, the area for non-fine rice decreased from 40.89 lakh acres last year to 26.33 lakh acres this year.
Officials from the civil supplies department estimated that 80 lakh metric tonnes of food grains would need to be purchased this season. To help farmers sell their produce, the government set up 7,411 procurement centres across the state, with some centres opening in early October. However, at first, farmers chose to sell their grain to traders outside the government centres because the market price was higher than the MSP. This led to fewer farmers bringing their produce to the procurement centres.
By the first week of November, however, grain procurement began to increase across Telangana. By November 14, the Civil Supplies Department had purchased 9.58 lakh metric tonnes of food grains from 1.41 lakh farmers through these centres. Of this, 7.49 lakh metric tonnes were non-fine varieties, and 2.09 lakh metric tonnes were fine varieties. The government also sped up payments to farmers and allocated an extra Rs 33 crore for the fine variety bonus. Interestingly, during the same period last year, 9.35 lakh metric tonnes of grain had been procured, showing a slight increase this year.
The government has taken steps to ensure farmers face no issues at the procurement centres. Recently, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy gave strict instructions to officials. He warned that ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) would be used against millers and traders if they caused any trouble for farmers.
