The Food Corporation of India (FCI-Kakinada) has supplied 9.84 lakh Metric Tonnes (MT) of rice to South India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, northeastern States and West Bengal during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning from early 2020.
The 9.84 lakh MTs of rice was supplied to FCI by rice millers from East Godavari district as per the FCI’s Custom Milled Rice (CMR) guidelines, which is a mandate for the rice millers as far as the food security targets are concerned.
Speaking to The Hindu, FCI-Kakinada Divisional Manager V. Suveen Kumar has said that the 9.84 lakh MTs of rice was produced in the East Godavari district alone and it has been distributed across the country during the pandemic.
“The rice has been supplied in four spells for the distribution to the families below poverty line under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM-GKP). The PM-GKP guarantees free distribution of five kilos of rice each to Below Poverty Line families to ensure food security during the pandemic”, added Mr. Suveen Kumar.
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FCI Kakinada division has a storage space of 2.12 lakh MT in East Godavari district being used to stock rice. In East Godavari, the total extent of land under paddy in the Kharif is above 2.25 lakh hectares.
