ADILABAD: The Telangana government is likely to intervene in purchase of red gram this year in the wake of slump in its market price in anticipation of a bumper crop. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is reported to have asked Marketing Minister T. Harish Rao to assess the situation and get TS Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited (MARKFED) to purchase red gram at minimum support price.
The decision for the market support operation came following a meeting of ruling party leaders from Adilabad district, led by Forest Minister Jogu Ramanna, with the Chief Minister on Tuesday night. TRS Adilabad west district president Loka Bhuma Reddy and president of party’s farmers wing B. Goverdhan Reddy, apprised Mr. Rao of the slump in red gram price and urged him to take steps to rescue the farmers.
The Chief Minister is reported to have acted immediately and asked the Marketing Minister to make an aerial survey of the crop before launching MSP operations. He is reported to have hoped that the State government intervention would have a sobering effect on traders who would be forced to buy the food grain at a competitive price.
Bigger harvest
The current market price of red gram is ₹4,000 per quintal as against the MSP of ₹5,050.
The area under red gram cultivation in the State has increased from 2.3 lakh hectares to 4 lakh hectares and the yield is expected to be about 8 quintals per hectare.
“The total harvest would be of the size of about 3.2 lakh tonnes,” Mr. Goverdhan Reddy told The Hindu . “The harvest in Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts, where it is being cultivated on 70,000 hectares, is expected to be around 60,000 tonnes,” he added.
The Centre has already expressed its intent to urge States to purchase the crop wherever the price falls below the MSP. In the prevalent situation, it would have asked the Telangana government to purchase red gram through MARKFED.
Red gram is cultivated mainly in parts of undivided Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Medak and Adilabad districts. The area under the crop has increased in all these districts as farmers went in for cultivating in large extents instead of sowing it as an inter crop of cotton because it had fetched a high price last season.
