Vijayawada: As part of the ongoing national initiative to strengthen the efficiency, transparency, and digital integration of the foodgrain procurement ecosystem, the department of food and public distribution (DFPD), organised 8th state-level workshop here on Wednesday. DFPD secretary Sanjeev Chopra inaugurated the workshop. He underlined the Centre’s commitment to making procurement systems more transparent, technology driven, and farmer-centric.

Chief secretary K Vijayanand, secretary of state food and civil supplies Saurabh Gaur, joint secretary (policy and FCI), DFPD, Shikha C, Jacintha Lazarus, executive director (FCI South) and other senior officials and stakeholders also participated.

The officials mentioned that the aim of these workshops is to bring all these IT initiative/portals to a single platform for better cooperation between various verticals and stakeholders resulting in higher efficiency and transparency in the system of procurement and distribution of food grains.

State was requested to make efforts towards timely payment of Minimum Support Price to Farmers. Secretary, consumer affairs, food and civil supplies department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, thanked the Government of India for organising these workshops for the states as foodgrain procurement has increasingly become of greater significance. He briefed the gathering on the best practices adopted by the AP Civil Supplies Corporation to ensure betterment of the procurement process and also improve the quality of the rice procured. The event witnessed participation of about 180 state and district-level officials of Andhra Pradesh including officers from State agencies in the State i.e. AP State Civil Supplies Corporation (APSCSCL), State Warehousing Corporation, Food Corporation of India, Central Warehousing Corporation, etc.,

The workshop focused on capacity-building, knowledge sharing and hands-on familiarization with procurement policies and digital reforms. This workshop is part of a broader series of State-level workshops on procurement reforms, initiated by the Department of Food and Public Distribution for the 18 major foodgrain procuring states. The aim is to enhance awareness, improve implementation of key policy measures and ensure smoother adoption of digital. In his keynote, Sanjeev Chopra reiterated that every reform effort is farmer-centric. ”Every reform undertaken is aimed at ensuring that the farmer, who is the backbone of our food security system, receives fair value, timely payments, and the confidence that every grain produced will reach the national food reserves and beneficiaries across the country.” The workshop concluded on a strong note of collaboration. Central and state officials, along with FCI and procurement stakeholders, pledged to work in mission mode to implement reforms.