AP Targets 37 Lakh Tonnes of Paddy Procurement in Kharif

Vijayawada:The Andhra Pradesh government has set a target of procuring 37 lakh metric tonnes of paddy during the 2026-27 Kharif season, from November 1, civil supplies minister Nadendla Manohar said on Friday.

Addressing a state-level preparedness workshop here, Manohar said elaborate arrangements were being made to ensure that farmers faced no difficulties and that farmer welfare was the government’s top priority.

As many as 2,619 procurement centres would be established, with around 24,000 personnel deployed. Joint collectors had been directed to inspect arrangements at the field level and ensure that the staff were trained in advance.

The government would make available 6.10 crore gunny bags and arrange alternatives immediately in case of shortages. Around 31,000 GPS-enabled vehicles would be deployed for paddy transportation.

Manohar said farmers using their own vehicles to transport paddy from threshing yards to rice mills would receive transportation charges directly into their bank accounts without delay. He described the arrangement as a procurement reform aimed at improving transparency and accountability.

He said paddy worth around Rs 12,000 crore was procured during the previous Kharif season, with more than 92 per cent of the amount credited to farmers’ bank accounts within 24 hours. Similar measures would be adopted this season to ensure timely payments.

The minister said the recent rainfall could improve yields. Although El Niño conditions had resulted in the estimated paddy production being reduced from 1.60 crore tonnes to around 1.10 crore tonnes, the state received good rainfall over the past three days.

The government would review the estimates and, if necessary, consult the Centre to revise the procurement target, he said.

Manohar directed civil supplies and agriculture officials, joint collectors and rice millers to coordinate closely and resolve field-level issues promptly. A state-level special cell and district-level help centres would be set up to address farmers’ grievances.

The civil supplies minister appealed to rice millers to cooperate and complete their allotted targets on time.

Civil supplies commissioner K. Kannababu and agriculture director Manazir Jilani Samoon made presentations at the workshop. APSCSC chairman Thota Mehar Sitarama Sudhir, ANGRAU vice-chancellor P.V. Satyanarayana, civil supplies director Nupur Ajay Kumar, state rice millers association president G. Venkateswara Rao, joint collectors, officials, farmers and millers attended the event.