Bhubaneswar: The Andhra Pradesh government has come with an innovative and decentralised procurement plan to support farmers in the state during the lockdown period. Over 700 decentralised procurement centres will be setup nearer to farm lands across the state.
This not only helps the government eliminate the chances of distress selling but also results in farmers having to travel shorter distances from their farms which inturn helps authorities execute lockdown and social distancing norms.
The centres will start operation tomorrow ( 11/04/2020). Through these centres a total of 5 crops i.e, Maize, Jowar, Bengal Gram, Red Gram and Turmeric will be procured. The aim is to support the state’s farmers during these testing times while containing the spread of Covid-19.
Speaking about the same , the Commissioner of Agriculture, Marketing and Cooperation , Pradyumna IAS said ,’
‘ The new , decentralised procurement procedure not only helps the farmers sell their crop but also helps authorities implement lockdown and social distancing norms on ground as the centres are located nearer to farmlands across the state’.
Prasanta Patnaik