Hyderabad: Even the problem of procurement of rice continues to produce a lot of heat in Telangana, Chair of the K Chandrasekhar Rao minister on Wednesday preventing letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urge the center to buy 90% of rice output.
CM urged the prime minister to increase the central procurement target of 40 lakh metric tons (MTs) rice to 90% of total production in the current Kharif season.
He tried to remind PM that the central government had purchased more than 95% of wheat and Punjab rice at MSP through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other institutions.
His request for PM came the day before Trs ‘Maha Dharna’ at Indira Park on Thursday.
The ruling party has reached the road on November 12 demanding that the rice procurement center be produced in the season of Rabbi.
KCR also urged mod to confirm the target of the procurement of rice from Telangana in the upcoming Rabbi season in addition to completing the procurement of 5 lakh MTs rice balances produced in Rabi season last year.
In a letter to PM, CM says Modi must remove doubts in the procurement of rice immediately and improve the ‘appropriate target’.
“I personally met the Food Minister Union Piyush Goyal on September 25 and 26 and asked him to improve the annual target for the procurement.
It’s been 50 days since I met the Union Minister, but there was no policy decision that had been taken and communicated to us so far,” said KCr in his letter to PM.
Entering the root of this problem, CM says FCI follows certain policies that create confusion in the minds of farmers.
Because of this, the state cannot improve the procurement target for one year in one go, while rice production has increased year to year.
“Because this policy has become difficult for countries to plan the right planting and explain the same thing to farmers,” he said.
For example, rice production in Telangana in Kharif 2020-2021 is 55.75 lakh MTs while procurement by the center is only 32.66 lakh MTs (59% of production).
“It’s less than 78% of the rice obtained in Kharif 2019-20.
The broad variation does not allow the state government to implement a rational cropping pattern,” KCR claims.
Looking for Level Level Field, CM explains to PM that India’s youngest country has achieved progress in the agricultural sector with a series of steps such as ₹ 10,000 per investment support through Rythu Bandhu, free power for agriculture and other Bima Rythu.