MLA Vemireddy Urges Early Opening of Paddy Purchase Centres in Nellore District
The meeting was attended by mandal agriculture officer Anitha, state MSME director Ravella Veerendra Naidu, and senior TD leaders.
Nellore: Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy and Penna Delta System chairman Jetty Rajagopal Reddy on Tuesday met district collector Himanshu Shukla at the Nellore collectorate and sought immediate steps to ensure smooth and farmer-friendly procurement.
The MLA stressed the need to deploy Village Agricultural Assistants (VAAs) at paddy purchase centres instead of Technical Assistants, saying VAAs were better acquainted with local conditions and farmers’ issues. She also highlighted delays in payments and logistical bottlenecks affecting procurement.
Prasanthi Reddy urged officials to ensure the timely supply of gunny bags, noting that shortages at procurement centres often force farmers to wait for several days. She further pointed out that commissions payable to primary agricultural cooperative societies by the civil supplies department have been pending since 2021, placing a financial strain on these societies.
She demanded early clearance of pending dues and advance payment of commissions at least a month before procurement begins, along with improved transportation arrangements to prevent hardship to farmers.
Responding, The collector directed the joint collector to initiate steps for the early release of `6.89 crore in pending dues to primary cooperative societies in the Kovur constituency. He also instructed officials to coordinate with the civil supplies department to resolve issues related to gunny bags, transportation, and procurement logistics without delay.
Jetty Rajagopal Reddy citing losses suffered by farmers in SPSR Nellore district due to delays in opening Paddy Purchase Centres during the September 2025 harvest, said farmers incurred losses of up to Rs 20,000 per acre during the September harvest last year as PPCs were not opened on time. In the absence of procurement centres, farmers were forced to sell paddy at Rs 15,000 per putti (850 kg), far below the Minimum Support Price of Rs 20,000, he told Deccan Chronicle.
The meeting was attended by mandal agriculture officer Anitha, state MSME director Ravella Veerendra Naidu, and senior TD leaders.