The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has agreed to enhance the paddy procurement target in Nellore district by procuring a total of 34.8 lakh tonnes of paddy during the rabi crop and also extend the paddy procurement season in the district up to October 31 this year.
Earlier, towards the end of August, the Ministry had extended the paddy procurement season in the district by one month, till September 30, following Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu’s intervention.
The farmers of the district have been requesting the government to extend the target and enhance the period of procurement.
The latest decision follows the intervention of Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, who discussed the issue with the Secretaries of Food and Public Distribution; Agriculture; and Home in the last two days.
Responding to a plea by the State government to depute a team to assess the damage for relaxation of uniform specifications for procurement, Agriculture Secretary informed Mr. Venkaiah Naidu that the damage due to heavy rains was not considered as a natural calamity, and therefore the relief had to be given to the farmers from the relief funds available with the State government.
Boiled rice
With regard to the request of the State government to accept the boiled rice in the FCI depots in East Godavari district, the Secretary, Food and Public Distribution, said the Ministry had no objection to the proposal if the cost of transportation was borne by the State. The Ministry would also take initiatives to arrange the required rakes for transportation in coordination with the Railways.
