Red gram procurement centres to open from Jan 2

Vijayawada: Thestate government will open red gram procurement centres across the state from January 2, in a major relief to pulse farmers, particularly red gram growers.

Announcing this here on Tuesday, agriculture director and Markfed managing director Dr Manazir Jeelani Samoon told the media that the Central government’s orders permitting procurement of pulses under the price support scheme (PSS) for the kharif 2025 season — including red gram, green gram and black gram — have come as a timely intervention following the special initiative taken by the coalition government in the state. He noted that farmers were facing difficulties due to the lack of remunerative market prices and were being forced to sell their produce at distress rates.

“The Central government’s decision to procure pulses under the PSS has instilled confidence among farmers that they need not sell their produce below minimum support price,” he said.

Dr Samoon informed that red gram procurement centres will be opened in all red gram-growing districts from January 2, and district-level Markfed officials have been instructed to make all necessary arrangements to ensure smooth procurement.

Giving details of procurement allotments for the kharif 2025, he said approval has been granted for procurement of 1,16,690 metric tonnes (MT) of red gram, 903 MT green gram and 28,440 MT black gram.

He added that procurement guidelines under the PSS were issued on December 10, and arrivals of red gram are expected from the first fortnight of January to the second fortnight of February, extending up to the second fortnight of March.

At present, the open market price of red gram ranges between Rs 6,800 and Rs 7,300 per quintal, while the Government has fixed the MSP at Rs 8,000 per quintal, ensuring better returns to farmers.

During the kharif season, red gram was cultivated over 4,11,653 hectares in the state. Anantapur district topped the list with 1,37,016 hectares, followed by Prakasam (77,730 ha), Kurnool (69,025 ha), Nandyal (47,580 ha), and Palnadu (39,546 ha).

He further said that the district joint collector will serve as the chairman of the district-level procurement committee, while the Markfed district manager will oversee the entire procurement process.

So far, 7,175 farmers have registered to sell their produce, including 5,871 farmers from Anantapur district alone. Farmers willing to sell their pulses under the scheme must mandatorily register at their nearest Rythu Seva Kendram, he added.