'Submit proposal to open paddy purchase centre'

Deputy Commissioner Jagadeesh has directed officials to submit a proposal to the state government, seeking permission to open a paddy purchase centre in the district.

The deputy commissioner, presiding over the district task force committee meeting at his office on Saturday, said that the Central government has already announced the purchase of paddy under minimum support price (MSP) scheme in 2019-20.

‘Good paddy yield’

“The paddy yield is good in the district in this season. Paddy is cultivated on 34,730 hectares of land in the district. The price of paddy in the market is less than the MSP announced by the government.

Thus, it will be beneficial to farmers if a paddy purchase centre is opened in the district,” he explained.

The government has raised the MSP of paddy, which is a key Kharif crop, to Rs 1,815 a quintal for the 2019-20 crop season for the normal category. For Grade 1 paddy, the MSP is Rs 1,835 a quintal.

Godowns

The deputy commissioner has directed the APMC officials to submit a proposal to the government to open a purchase centre. Jagadeesh also told the officials to identify godowns to stock up the purchased paddy in Udupi, Kundapur and Karkala. “Further, graders should be appointed to test the quality of the paddy purchased,” the deputy commissioner stressed.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Sadashiva Prabhu, Agriculture department Deputy Director Chandrashekar Nayak, APMC Secretary Shivananda and others were also present at the meeting.