Paddy Bonus Only for 7 Select Varieties: Tummala

Hyderabad: Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has made it clear that rice belonging to one or any of the seven select varieties of fine grain rice chosen by the government as a priority for planting this Kharif season will be the only rice crops that will be eligible for the bonus amounts.

Nageswara Rao, at a meeting with senior agriculture officials on Wednesday, said even Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had stated the need to encourage cultivation of these select rice varieties and since there is a good demand in the market for these types of rice and potential for exports, seed companies should ensure adequate availability of seeds of these rice varieties.

He also directed that the daily stock positions of these seeds should be displayed and dealers should share farmer-wise purchase data of these seeds. The selected seven varieties are BPT-5204 Sambamasuri, RSR-15048 Telangana Sona, HMT Sona, Jai Sriram, KSM-1638 Kunaram Sannalu, WGL-44 Siddhi, and KSM-7715.

The minister also said that the government was considering providing subsidies for purchase of seeds for different crops and a decision would be taken soon.