The Hindu Business Line : Paddy procurement by SHGs: AP Govt to provide infrastructure

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Industry & Economy - Rural Development
States - Andhra Pradesh
Paddy procurement by SHGs: AP Govt to provide infrastructure

Our Bureau

1 per cent of minimum support price to be commission

The Government has set a procurement target of Rs 500 crore-worth paddy, pulses and chillies for the current financial year.

Hyderabad , Nov. 27

Eyeing a model in procurement of paddy by self-help groups (SHGs), the State Government has decided to equip the groups and other village organisations with necessary infrastructure to make them play a major role in procurement of paddy and pulses.

The Government has set a procurement target of Rs 500 crore-worth paddy, pulses and chillies for the current financial year. The SHGs would get one per cent of the minimum support price as commission. "This model is quite useful for the farmers too. Upfront, they get post-dated cheques from the groups. They could take cash after seven days of the sale," an official said.

The procured produce would be transferred to the near-by godowns or rice mills. What had started as an experiment in order to expand the scope of income avenues of the SHGs has now become a very powerful tool in the hands of the Government in procurement.

Procurement

In 2004-05, the village-level organisations under Indira Kranthi Patham (or Velugu) could procure 11,488 tonnes of paddy at Rs 12.01 crore. A year later, the groups could procure 2.18 lakh tonnes of paddy worth Rs 118 crore.

Seeing effectiveness of this model, the Government had now set a bigger target and that could be channelised through public distribution system (PDS).

Shortage of paddy had been forcing the State to get rice from the North (particularly Punjab)but the beneficiaries didn't like the taste.

But procurement in big volumes was a challenge for the groups. So, the Government was trying to train women on various aspects of procurement.

The Managing Director of State Civil Supplies Corporation and other officials toured as many as 11 districts to study the issue and give suggestions.

As a follow-up, the Marketing Department had been asked to provide weighing machines and testing tools at all the SHG procurement sites.

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