Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu on Tuesday promised to arrange additional godown space from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure the paddy grown in rabi 2020-21 in East Godavari district.
During a virtual meet on the status of paddy procurement On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Rice Millers’ Association (APRMA) State president Dwarampudi Bhaskara Reddy informed Mr. Kannababu that there was no godown space to procure MTU 3626 paddy, the preferred variety in the district, and wanted the FCI to create additional storage.
Mr. Kannababu promised to take up the issue with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to help achieve the rabi procurement target. “I will urge the Chief Minister to explore the possibility of persuading the FCI to arrange their wagon facility to provide additional godown space,” said Mr. Kannababu.
The APRMA has claimed that the rice millers have already procured 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the district by Tuesday.
Joint Collector G. Lakshmisha said that 765 metric tonnes of paddy has been procured by the State government through the Paddy Purchasing Centres (PPC). The total rabi paddy production is estimated to be above 13.50 lakh metric tonnes in the district.
The Agriculture Department authorities said that 61,150 farmers have registered their crop details at the Rythu Bharosa Kendras for procurement through the PPCs.
