Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directs officials to ensure MSP to paddy, other crops

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday directed the officials of Agriculture and Civil Supplies Departments to take all steps to ensure MSP to farmers for paddy and other crops.

After a review meeting at his Tadepalli camp office near here, he said the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) should play an active role in the procurement of crops.

The Chief Minister said the aim of the State Government is to provide MSP to all farmers and instructed the officials to work towards it. He said there should be no negligence in providing services to the farmers and instructed the officials to interact with the farmers frequently so that there won't be any communication gap. He said no one came forward to procure wet and discolored paddy in the past and added that the YSRCP Government has come forward to procure such produce to support them as part of their commitment for farmers' welfare.

He said there should be no involvement of millers in procurement of paddy and added that farmers should not be cheated in quality check of the produce. He instructed the officials to export the crop directly from the State Government to benefit farmers.

The Chief Minister said there should be five people including Technical Assistant and Data Entry Operator in RBKs irrespective of their category for procurement operations and added that they should interact with farmers and make all the necessary arrangements including arrangement of gunny bags, transport vehicles and hamalis for procurement. He instructed the officials to take necessary measures to ensure payment is done within 21 days of procurement. He said the officials should check if all the procurement centers are open or not and ensure adequate staff at every procurement center and added to observe the procurement process.

Reddy instructed the officials to set up a helpline number in every RBK for complaints and petitions on issues related to procurement of crops.

He directed the officials to conduct field trips and interact with farmers to understand their problems and said to take continuous feedback from Joint Collectors on procurement. He directed the officials to create more awareness on Crop Cultivator Rights Cards (CCRC) among farmers. The officials told the Chief Minister that the average paddy purchase per day has reached 42,237 metric tons and it will be increased in coming days.

Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu, Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Venkateswara Rao, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Agriculture Special Chief Secretary Poonam Malakondaiah, Marketing and Cooperative Principal Secretary Y Madhusudan Reddy, Civil Supplies Commissioner Girija Shankar, Agriculture Commissioner H Arun Kumar, Agriculture Marketing Commissioner P.S. Pradyumna, Civil Supplies director S Delhi Rao, Civil Supplies MD G Veerapandian and others were present.