According to Sudanshu Pandey, Union Meals and Public Distribution Secretary, the Meals Company of India (FCI) has excess shares of parboiled rice that may help the central pool meet demand from consuming States over the next four years.
"Not only from Telangana, but also from Chhattisgarh, parboiled rice procurement isn't being completed," the Meals Secretary stated.
While opting not to purchase parboiled rice from Telangana, the FCI stated that it could be interested in obtaining white rice.
"We had successfully conveyed our resolution to the Telangana government prematurely. In fact, we had engaged with the State government in determining the procurement amount," Pandey explained. He said that Telangana was trying to deceive them on the rice procurement.
Last season, the FCI was hesitant to purchase parboiled rice. However, Telangana Chief Minister Ok Chandrasekhar Rao met with Centre officials and persuaded them to acquire an additional 2.47 million tonnes (mt).
As a result, he came to the conclusion that the firm will not purchase from the rabi harvest season, which begins in April of the subsequent year.
Procurement guidelines
The state government has warned farmers that the FCI would no longer purchase parboiled rice beginning in April and that they must change crops. Nonetheless, the matter became politicised, with the Opposition, led by the BJP, protesting and Rao blaming the Centre for the troubles. On Friday, the governing Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) protested the FCI's decision not to acquire parboiled rice.
Opposition events, on the other hand, emphasise that procurement of kharif rice is yet to begin within the State. They've started a separate campaign urging that it be purchased as soon as possible.
One reason for the FCI to reduce its parboiled rice purchase, according to Pandey, is that some states have developed their own selection and use their own Decentralized procurement system (DCP) for personal consumption.
"Kerala and Bihar have their own parboiled rice and DCP." As a result, there is no demand from the central pool (for parboiled rice). "What can we do after procuring it?" the Secretary metioned. Telangana should abide by the agreement struck with the Centre, he said. Rice traders stated that the Telangana government has a problem if farmers opt to offer more white rice.
Damaged rice
The problem for farmers is that the current weather patterns result in grain damage in February and March. To overcome that, they choose for the parboiled selection.
"Telangana farmers domesticate high-yielding cultivars, but they break up easily during milling," Pandey said. To avoid this, they steam the paddy, resulting in a higher yield as well as a higher value. "Efforts must be done to reduce the brokens," he said.
Telangana residents do not consume parboiled rice, which is manufactured for consumption by other states. According to merchants, it has now encountered a snag since the consuming countries are establishing their own method.
