Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed officials to activate the Agricultural Advisory Councils (AABs) and ensure that they work in coordination with the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs).
Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke on Friday at a review meeting on the distribution of rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and sourcing rice at the farm gates that the AAB should inform farmers in advance of the crops to be grown and their crops Procurement.
Farmers should be educated about the crops they could grow as an alternative to rice if it did not produce a minimum return.
“Keep Miller away”
He said there should be no involvement of millers in the procurement of rice fields. District collectors should source gunnysacks as needed and have the grains checked for moisture content prior to purchase.
The Chief Minister said the Civil Supply Department should own RBKs so that a concerted effort could be made to make farming profitable and insisted that there should be no mistakes in delivering PDS rice to the door. In addition, the rice should be of good quality.
Officials told the prime minister that the government has set a target to procure 45.20 lakh tons of rice in the 2020-21 Rabi season, which is 15% more than the previous year.
They said that 65.23 lakh tons of rice was expected to be produced this year and 50,000 tons per day were procured. It would soon be increased to 70,000 tons.
Present were Minister for Civil Supplies Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao, Special Envoy (Agriculture) Poonam Malakondaiah and Commissioners K. Sasidhar (Civil Supplies) and H. Arun Kumar (Agriculture).