At a time when the farming community is agitating against the new farm laws and the political parties across the spectrum, with an exception of a few, are demanding assurance on minimum support price, Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy has stressed the need for change in the policy of limited procurement under price support scheme.
“When the extent of cultivation and production of crops is increasing in Telangana with the supportive measures of the State government, the Centre is unfortunately not taking such aspects into consideration,” the minister said at a meeting on procurement held here on Monday. He said the system of deciding the procurement quantity of pulses at 25% of the production estimated from the last five years’ cultivation extent was not correct.
Stating that he would take the issue to the notice of the Centre by writing to Union Agriculture Minister with a request to take up redgram procurement based on the extent of its cultivation with minimum support price (MSP), the minister said as part of planned cultivation during the Vanakalam (Kharif) season the crop was cultivated in nearly 10.85 lakh acres. He felt that farmer could get good returns only if he/she could hold back his produce till there was good price in the market.
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Favourable weather
With favourable weather conditions this year, the production of redgram was expected to be high this year in the State and the harvesting had already commenced in the Narayanpet area. He asked the Markfed authorities to open procurement centres in the areas by this weekend itself.
The minister complimented some farmers’ efforts to process the paddy and make good returns by selling rice instead of the raw material. He called a farmer of Hajipur in Mancherial district over phone and complimented his work of taking the mobile milling machine to the doorstep of paddy farmers and processing their paddy into rice so that they could make good returns.
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He also asked the cotton farmers not to sell their produce in a hurry for lesser price as about 300 procurement centres were opened this year.He stated that awareness meets for farmers, Rythu Bandu Samithi members and agriculture and horticulture department officials would be held next month.