State sees big spike in fine rice output thanks to Rs 500 bonus

Hyderabad: Telangana registered big growth in the fine paddy variety production, and the State government's announcement of a Rs 500 bonus for fine paddy yielded good results.

The area under paddy cultivation in the last monsoon (2023) was 65.94 lakh acres, and during this year (2024), the area under paddy cultivation has been 66.77 lakh acres. While the previous year's yield was estimated at 146 lakh metric tonnes, this time the grain yield is expected to be 153 lakh metric tonnes.

The State government had announced providing the minimum support price and a Rs 500 bonus would be paid to fine rice varieties from this season, and as a result, this time the cultivation area of fine varieties of rice has increased by 61 per cent compared to last time. Last year, 25.05 lakh acres (38 per cent) of paddy cultivation area was of thin varieties; this time it has increased to 40.44 lakh acres (61 per cent). Last year 40.89 lakh acres of non-fine varieties were cultivated; this time 26.33 lakh acres of non-fine varieties were cultivated.

According to the officials, the civil supplies department had estimated that a total of 80 lakh metric tonnes of food grains would have to be procured this season. The government has made all arrangements for procurement of grain by setting up 7,411 procurement centres across the State. It started purchase centres in some places to make it available to farmers from the first week of October. However, initially, as the price in the open market was higher than the minimum support price, farmers preferred to sell to traders outside the buying centres. Due to this, the arrival of food grains in the buying centres has reduced compared to the past.

The officials said that from the first week of November, food grain procurement has picked up across the State. The Civil Supplies Department has procured 9.58 lakh metric tonnes of food grain from 1.41 lakh farmers in the State till November 14 through procurement centres. Out of that, 7.49 lakh metric tons are of non-fine variety and 2.09 lakh metric tons of fine variety. The government has also expedited payments to farmers who have sold food grains. An additional Rs 33 crore has been allocated under the fine variety bonus. During the same period last year, 9.35 lakh metric tonnes of grain were procured.

The government has taken adequate precautions so that the farmers do not suffer at the procurement centres. Recently, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy issued clear instructions to the officials that ESMA should be used if millers and traders are involved in disturbing the farmers.