Nagar Kurnool: Paddy Procurement for Kharif 2024-25 to Be Streamlined
District Collector Badavath Santosh has directed officials to ensure that the paddy procurement process for the Kharif 2024-25 season runs smoothly. He emphasized proper planning to prevent any inconvenience to farmers. On Wednesday, the Collector held a meeting with Additional Collector K. Sitarama Rao, officials from various departments, Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) CEOs, rice millers, and representatives from IKP.
The agriculture department estimates that 2.18 lakh metric tonnes of paddy will be harvested this season. To manage this, 251 paddy procurement centers need to be set up. The government will offer Rs 2,320 per quintal for Grade-A paddy and Rs 2,300 for regular varieties. Additionally, farmers growing fine varieties will receive a bonus of Rs 500.
Collector Santosh stressed that payments should be credited to farmers’ accounts within 48 hours. He also instructed that rice mills assigned to each center should receive the paddy without delays. All procurement centers must have weighing machines and tabs to enable the online entry of details. Necessary equipment, such as moisture meters, paddy cleaners, scales, tarpaulins, and gunny bags, should be dispatched to the centers immediately. Flex banners displaying the support prices should be placed at each center for farmers’ reference.
The meeting was attended by key officials, including District Civil Supplies Officer Srinivas, PD DRDA Chinna Obulesu, District Agriculture Officer Chandrashekar, Cooperative Officer Raghu, DM Civil Supplies Rajender, Marketing Officer Swarn Singh, and representatives from the rice mills, among others.