Hyderabad: The agriculture and cooperation department has identified 33 fine varieties of paddy cultivated by farmers in the state, against the backdrop of the government promising a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for these varieties.
The decision to limit the assistance to only fine varieties had drawn flak as no such criteria was announced during the campaign by the Congress. Telangana farmers were stated to produce more of the coarse variety of paddy; those that cultivated fine varieties preferred to sell them to private traders at rates higher than the minimum support price that is offered by government agencies.
A committee will be constituted for addressing any grievance raised by farmer, individual, company for inclusion or exclusion in the list of fine varieties, a release by the government said.
The government on Tuesday provided technical specifications such as kernel strength of less than 6 mm, kernel L/B ratio of more than 2.5, kernel breadth belonging to BPT 5204, RNR 15048, HMT Sona, Jai Sri Ram for the paddy to qualify to be a fine variety. Moisture content in the grain has been fixed at 17 per cent. For the purpose ten full grains of dehusked kernel length and breadth from the lot shall be taken by following the quartering method.
