In Telangana, what should have essentially been an issue between state and centre has turned into a political slugfest between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the BJP and the Congress.
On Thursday, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) staged a protest flanked by cabinet ministers and top party leaders at Indira Park, in the heart of Hyderabad. This was the KCR's first dharna as CM in seven years. He criticised the NDA-led Union government for its agricultural policies and warned that this was only the beginning of a long struggle.
Some distance away, the Congress party also protested, accusing the TRS and the BJP of being hand-in-glove and of fooling people. In turn, the BJP has mounted attacks on the TRS government over the last few days.
Timeline of a political blame-game
Days after tasting defeat in a by-poll, KCR lashed out at state BJP leaders for misleading state farmers. Earlier, the local unit of the BJP demanded that the state government procure the Kharif paddy yield from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP). It also opposed the state government’s advisory to farmers to stop cultivating paddy in the future.
Countering this, the CM accused the BJP of provoking farmers and says that it was the centre’s FCI (Food Corporation of India) which was not procuring the processed paddy from them as is the norm. KCR dared the state BJP leaders to promise that they will ensure that the centre buys the rice and warned them to not disturb the farm economy of the state. The CM wrote a letter on Wednesday to the Prime Minister complaining that the FCI had procured 19 per cent lesser rice that was produced in the current Kharif season when compared to the last season. Through his letter, the CM urged the centre to enhance the FCI’s target for rice procurements to 90 per cent of the state’s production and also complete the balance procurements of rice of last season’s Rabi. Simply put, the state BJP and TRS are pinning the responsibility of procurements on each other.
No demand for parboiled rice
Telangana's Civil Supplies department operates thousands of paddy procurement centres where farmers can sell their produce. Due to the ongoing crisis, fewer procurement centres have been opened for farmers.
After procuring the paddy, the department sends it to private rice mills for processing after which the FCI procures and stores the rice grains for use in the Public Distribution System (PDS). During Kharif season (monsoon), almost all the paddy crops cultivated in the state are raw rice of either fine or common varieties. During the Rabi season (winter), it is mostly the common variety of rice that is cultivated. It is then processed into parboiled rice in mills to ensure lesser breakage which is a common occurrence because of the weather. The recovery rate of paddy to rice is usually around 65 per cent during Kharif and 62 per cent during Rabi; if parboiled rice is done away with, the recovery rate would fall to around 52 per cent during Rabi with raw rice. This is the reason why parboiled rice is favoured during Rabi.
The area under paddy cultivation has increased exponentially in Telangana, thanks to the commissioning of various irrigation projects. In 2015, 53 lakh acres were under paddy cultivation during Rabi and Kharif seasons. Now, it has almost doubled to 1.05 crore acres. The total paddy production for this year’s Rabi and Kharif was 2.5 Crore tonnes, the highest ever. The centre had procured 43 lakh MT of rice in 2014 which increased to 94.54 lakh MT in 2021. The FCI godowns overflowing with rice grains have enough stock to last the next few years, according to officials.
The issue is one of supply and demand. Through multiple missives and oral statements, the centre has stressed since the beginning of the year that they would not accept parboiled rice, as they have surplus stock. Parboiled rice is mostly consumed in Kerala, parts of Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh, and in a few other states that cultivate this variety. While the needs have more or less remained stable, the production of parboiled rice has significantly risen in Telangana. The FCI is yet to lift the balance of 5 lakh MT parboiled rice from the last Rabi season. Even if the state or the centre procures the rice, what they will do with it is the question. Most importantly, with the onset of Rabi, the farmers are still in a dilemma as they have to choose between shifting to new crop varieties or repeating the previous cultivation pattern which may not be feasible. If there is a ban on parboiled rice then it affects the millers too who have to look for alternatives to generate revenues.
Low prices in private markets
Small and marginal farmers have been badly affected by the crisis. The MSP of raw rice, its variants and parboiled rice, is around Rs 1,950 per quintal. With only a few procurements centres operating, the delay in procurements is forcing farmers to sell in the private market, in some places for as little as Rs 1,300 per quintal.
The Punjab comparison
The Telangana government wants the centre to procure 90 per cent of the paddy as they did in Punjab. But comparing both states in terms of paddy production may not be right, say, agriculture activists. In Punjab, paddy production has increased only marginally, from 167 lakh tonnes in 2016 to 171.6 lakh tonnes in 2021, unlike in Telangana where both production and land under cultivation have gone up significantly. In addition, Punjab only grows paddy in Kharif.
