Procure fine rice, coarse rice separately: Collector

District Collector C Narayana Reddy has directed the officials at the paddy procurement centres to purchase fine rice  and coarse rice  separately. He also appealed to farmers to cooperate by bringing fine and coarse rice separately to the centres.
On Tuesday, the Collector inaugurated a paddy procurement centre set up under the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society at the Agricultural Market Yard in Tipparti mandal in the district.
The state government has already announced that fine rice will be distributed to white card holders through fair price shops starting from January 1. Therefore, purchasing fine rice separately will facilitate the distribution of fine rice, which will benefit both farmers and cardholders, the Collector explained. He also mentioned that the state government has announced bonus of RS 500 for fine rice, specifically aimed at benefiting farmers.
For the current monsoon season, the government has fixed a support price of Rs 2,320 per quintal for Grade-A paddy and Rs 2,300 per quintal for ordinary paddy. Additionally, Rs 500 per quintal bonus will be provided for fine rice, the Collector said, urging that fine and coarse rice should not be mixed under any circumstances.
He further emphasised that if the rice mills receive separate varieties of fine paddy, it would benefit everyone consuming fine rice.
The Collector also advised farmers to avoid selling their paddy to private mills and instead bring it to the procurement centres. Since there is still a possibility of rain for the next month, he instructed the centers to ensure that all arrangements are made to prevent the paddy from getting wet. Specifically, he asked for trucks, labourers, gunny bags, tarpaulins, weighing machines, and moisture-testing equipment to be ready to dispatch the purchased paddy to the mills immediately.
The program was attended by Agricultural Market Committee Chairman Jookuri Ramesh, PACS Chairman Sampath Reddy, former ZP Chairperson Rami Reddy, D.C.M.S Director Venkata Reddy, District Civil Supplies Officer Venkateshwarlu, D.C.O, and other officials, public representatives, and dignitaries.