‘Open paddy procurement centres at designated RSKs’

Tirupati : District Collector Dr S Venkateswar has directed officials to take all necessary steps to open paddy procurement centres (PPCs) at designated Rythu Seva Kendras (RSKs) and create awareness among farmers about selling their paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Emphasising that no farmer should resort to distress sales, he insisted that paddy must not be sold below MSP in the open market.

He assessed the ongoing paddy procurement process in Tirupati district with officials from agriculture department, civil supplies department, primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS), and agricultural marketing department. State civil supplies corporation has been appointed as the nodal agency for procuring paddy at MSP. The government has fixed MSP for Kharif marketing season (KMS) 2024-25 at Rs 2,320 per 100 kg for Grade A paddy and Rs 2,300 per 100 kg for the common variety.

To streamline procurement, the Collector instructed the district agriculture officer to ensure that farmers visit nearby RSKs, schedule their sales based on harvesting dates, and benefit from selling their produce at MSP to the government. He also directed the district supplies officer (DSO) to ensure that rice mills strictly follow standard operational guidelines while participating in procurement and warned of stringent action against millers violating norms or exploiting farmers.

Further, Dr Venkateswar emphasised the importance of maintaining the prescribed 17 per cent moisture level for paddy to be eligible for government procurement. He noted that so far, 37,000 metric tonnes of paddy worth Rs 79.38 crore have been procured, benefiting 3,648 farmers who received payments within 24 to 48 hours of procurement.

Urging farmers to take advantage of the government’s initiative, the Collector assured that proactive measures are being taken to facilitate smooth paddy purchases in the upcoming months of April and May. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to preventing distress sales and ensuring that farmers receive the best possible price for their produce.

District Civil Supplies Manager Y Sumathi, District Civil Supplies Officer Sesha Raju, District Agriculture Officer S Prasad, District Cooperative Officer S Lakshmi, and Assistant Marketing Director T Surendra were present.