Konaseema Misses Out on Millet Procurement, Centre Informs Lok Sabha

 

The Central government has told the Lok Sabha that no coarse grains were purchased from the Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh. It also said that only small quantities were bought from a few other districts in the last two years.

This information was given while replying to questions raised by Members of Parliament. The Centre explained that grain procurement in Andhra Pradesh is handled by the State Civil Supplies Corporation.

As per the data, crops like jowar and ragi were mainly procured from districts such as YSR Kadapa, Anantapur, Alluri Sitharama Raju, and Sri Satya Sai during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons. In contrast, no procurement took place in Konaseema, and very little was recorded in some districts like Nellore.

The government also mentioned that procurement centres were set up in different regions and storage facilities were arranged through available warehouses, at the same time, the Centre said it has not conducted any specific study to understand the challenges faced by states in procuring coarse grains.

However, it highlighted steps taken to promote millet procurement. These include updating procurement rules, increasing the shelf life of millets, allowing surplus stock to be moved between states, and providing better incentives to procurement agencies.

The government has also included more types of millets under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system for a limited period to encourage farmers and increase production.

 

Latest Millets News