Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy has assured that since the Centre was purchasing only 30% of agricultural produce at minimum support price (MSP) from farmers, the State government will procure the balance stocks at MSP even though it will have to bear an additional burden of ₹ 1,000 crore per annum.
Middlemen purchased the stocks at cheaper rates in neighbouring States where MSP was not assured and sold the same at MSP in Telangana illegally, Mr. Reddy said and appealed to agricultural market committee employees to check the practice in a bid to see that the revenue of treasury was not dented.
The Minister was speaking after releasing the New Year diary and calender of the agricultural market committee employees union affiliated to Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers Association. He said it was likely that the government will launch integrated agricultural markets across the State on the lines of the existing ones at Siddipet and Gajwel.
The government considers farmer central to its governance. Keeping this in view, it took several pro-farmer steps, he said. Crop, crop production, marketing, processing and cooperation activities were brought under a single umbrella. If the experiment works well, Telangana will become a role model in agriculture in the country
Mr. Reddy recalled that the agricultural market yards presented a deserted look without stocks prior to formation of Telangana. Now, markets had sprung up even on highways to purchase material. The government had opened food grains procurement centres in every village, he said.
