AP procured 3.10 crore metric tonnes of paddy from 32.78 lakh farmers, says Karumuri

VIJAYAWADA:  Civil Supplies Minister Karumuri Nageswara said on Sunday that the AP government provided minimum support price (MSP) for the paddy it procured from the farmers and kept middlemen and brokers out of the purchase process.

Refuting allegations of Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu and others that the state government was neglecting paddy farmers, the minister said that during the five years of TD, the Naidu government procured only 2.65 crores metric tonnes of grain from 17.94 lakh farmers and paid only Rs 40,236 crore to them.

On the other hand, in the last four years, the state bought 3.10 crore metric tonnes of grain from 32.78 lakh farmers and paid them Rs 58,765 crores, which showed this government’s commitment towards farmers, he claimed.

He said AP farmers knew how Chandrababu deceived them. “Naidu did not give input subsidy. But, after the YSRC came to power, it gave the farmers the input subsidy of the Naidu period too, after 2019. Now, the YSRC government is giving input subsidies and insurance to farmers during the crop season itself, he said.

The minister said, “No one buys the paddy grains grown in Telangana. Hence, the Telangana government itself buys paddy from farmers. The golden (Swarna) variety and all other types of grains are grown in AP. These are purchased from farmers at a price higher than the MSP, he said.

He stated that the central government had not procured boiled rice for the past five years. “So we have made arrangements to buy it. We have also purchased the bondalu rice variety that Kerala asked for and the farmers got a lot of profit by selling this at Rs 1900 more than the MSP.”

Affirming that the AP government would do the procurement till the last grain, the minister said the state government made arrangements for the payments to the farmers four days after the procurement of grain. “We also bought rain-soaked grain and gave the MSP of Rs 1530. During Chandrababu's reign, they used to buy it for Rs 800 to feed ducks and chickens.”

“Chandrababu says that he would give more than what the YSRC government gives. Where will Naidu get the money for these schemes,” he asked.