Farmers wary of government’s FAQ norm in paddy procurement
The state government’s procurement price is ₹19,720 per tonne for A grade and ₹19,550 for common variety
Nellore: Though the Andhra Pradesh government is making payments for the paddy procured from farmers within 3–4 days like never before, farmers in Nellore district are not happy, saying the minimum support price (MSP) it has offered is too meagre.
The state government’s procurement price is ₹19,720 per tonne for A grade and ₹19,550 for common variety. A farmer V. Vineet Reddy said they are unable to utilise the offer because of the FAQ (Fair Average Quality) stipulation, wherein the moisture content in the paddy procured should not be above 17 per cent.
Vineet Reddy says farmers have to spend nearly ₹600 to ₹700 for drying paddy, so that it can meet the FAQ standard.
While this is the case of farmers, rice millers are also wary of collecting paddy from the market because the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has not yet fixed the target related to boiled rice it will procure from Nellore district.
A rice miller said that they would readily procure paddy if officials give an assurance that their rice will be procured by the FCI. In this context, he alleged that millers are yet to receive service charges for processing the CMR (custom milled rice) from last four years.
Under CMR, a rice mill processes paddy as brown rice or white rice as per customer specifications.
Another grievance of millers is that they have not been reimbursed the cost of gunny bags. “While the cost of a gunny bag is ₹45, government pays just ₹3.39 for each bag. But even this amount has not been paid from the last four years,” Nellore District Rice Millers and Dealers Association president Nagirerddy Subhramanyam Reddy said.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, AP Civil Supplies Corporation district manager D. Arjun Rao said when it comes to paddy procurement, they have to follow FAQ norms, which are stipulated by the Government of India. He maintained that they are paying charges for drying paddy to millers as and when funds are released by the union government. Further, he said milling charges are also being paid except in case of any issues.