Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the officials to activate the Agriculture Advisory Boards (AABs) and ensure that they function in coordination with the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs).
Addressing a review meeting on distribution of rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and procurement of paddy at the farm gates, on Friday, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the AABs should advise the farmers in advance about the crops to be grown and their procurement.
Farmers should be educated about the crops that they could grow as an alternative to paddy if the latter did not fetch minimum returns.
‘Keep millers away’
He said there should be no involvement of millers in paddy procurement. District Collectors should procure gunnysacks if necessary and get the grains checked for moisture content before purchasing them.
The Chief Minister said the Civil Supplies Department should own up RBKs so that a joint effort could be made to make agriculture profitable, and insisted that there should be no lapses in door delivery of PDS rice. Besides, the rice should be of good quality.
The officials informed the Chief Minister that the government had set a target to procure 45.20 lakh tonnes of paddy in 2020-21 rabi season, which was 15% more compared to the previous year.
They said a production of 65.23 lakh tonnes of paddy was expected this year, and 50,000 tonnes were being procured per day. It would be increased to 70,000 tonnes soon.
Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao, Special Chief Secretary (agriculture) Poonam Malakondaiah and Commissioners K. Sasidhar (civil supplies) and H. Arun Kumar (agriculture) were present.
