Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has suggested the State leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not indulge in petty politics causing confusion and loss to the farming community of Telangana even after the Centre acknowledged the fact that cultivation of paddy during the Kharif season was taken up in 62 lakh acres.
Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy, speaking to reporters here on Saturday, requested the Centre again to review its decision on the procurement of Rabi paddy/rice considering the fact that about 22 crore population still lacked food security and that producing raw rice in Telangana during Rabi was most uneconomical due to extreme temperatures and high broken rice percentage.
Stating that no government in the country had come out unscathed after taking decisions against the farming community, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said North India was boiling with the farmers protests against the new farm laws but the sword was still dangling over the heads of farmers although the Supreme Court had kept the new laws in abeyance. He sought to know whether Centre could not spare some money when it was writing off ₹lakhs of crores of debt of corporates.
Explaining that the State Government had already undertaken creating awareness among farmers by encourage diversification of the cropping patterns, the minister said it had already secured permission from the Centre for oilpalm plantation in 8.15 lakh acres. He also mentioned that it was Telangana that was planning to divide cultivable lands into crop colonies and encouraging change in cropping patterns and had taken up crop booking for the last few years.
He pointed out that the boiled rice produced in the Rabi season in Telangana could be exported even now but the BJP Government at the Centre had discontinued incentives for exports, discouraging both the farmers and exporters (millers). By keeping exports and imports of food and commercial crops in its hands the Centre was not even thinking about new ways to procure crops.
The Minister thanked the farming community for participating in Friday’s protests in the State against Centre’s attitude on Rabi paddy/rice procurement and suggested the farmers to focus on growing blackgram, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and other crops which have demand in the market.
