The Civil Supplies Department of Telangana has completed procurement of 60 lakh tonnes, meeting the target set by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the State. The produce, procured from over 10 lakh farmers, is valued at about ₹12,000 crore.
The State, however, expects arrivals of 30 lakh more tonnes of paddy, considering the bumper output from the kharif crop. The State expects a total output of about 1.30 crore tonnes from the kharif season.
As the procurement process completed in several parts of the State, the Department has shut down nearly half of the 6,900 procurement centres that it opened.
With the State completing the procurement target and more arrivals expected, the State Government asked the Union Government to increase the cap.
The State Government deputed five ministers, led by Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy, to hold discussions with Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Food, and convince the Government to procure more paddy from the State. The Union Government, however, has not given any assurance to the State Government in this regard.