Amaravati, Sept 25: Andhra Pradesh will sell super-fine KNM and BPT varieties of rice at ₹50 per kg and onions at ₹35 per kg through special counters at Rythu Bazars, Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu said on Friday.
Chakki wheat flour will also be supplied through the public distribution system at ₹27 per kg, along with palm oil and red gram at subsidised prices.
The state government has planned to shift 8.81 lakh hectares to pulses, maize, oilseeds and other alternative crops during the rabi season as part of its crop diversification strategy.
The plan includes cultivation of chickpea on 1.88 lakh hectares, maize on 1.51 lakh hectares and black gram on 1.27 lakh hectares.
The state will procure 100 per cent of ragi, red gram and black gram produced by farmers who register in advance at the minimum support price (MSP). Up to 30 per cent of green gram, chickpea, groundnut and sunflower production will also be procured at MSP.
“The government has also drawn up a plan to shift 8.81 lakh hectares to pulses, maize and oilseeds this rabi,” Atchannaidu said.
As onions do not have an MSP, the government will procure them through its price stabilisation fund and sell them in the market.
“Onions have no MSP, so the State would procure them through its price stabilisation fund and sell them in the market,” the minister said.
The government estimates that ₹2,216.48 crore will be required to support procurement operations. It will also seek the Centre’s support to include jowar and ragi in the PDS and procure them at MSP.
Meanwhile, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar said the state would begin procurement of kharif paddy from November 1, with a target of 37 lakh tonnes.
As many as 2,619 procurement centres will be established, with around 24,000 personnel deployed for the exercise. The state will keep 6.10 crore gunny bags ready and deploy nearly 31,000 GPS-enabled vehicles for transportation.
The government will also directly credit transportation charges to farmers who use their own vehicles to transport paddy from procurement centres to rice mills.
Manohar said the government had paid around ₹12,000 crore to farmers for paddy procured during the previous kharif season, with more than 92 per cent of the amount credited to their bank accounts within 24 hours.
The procurement target may be revised depending on crop conditions and rainfall, he said. Special help centres will also be established at the state and district levels to address farmers’ grievances.
