As much as 63.5 lakh tonnes ofricehave been dispatched fromAndhra Pradeshto other ricedeficit statesby the (Fci) in the last three years.
Surplus stocks of wheat and rice from various states are moved to deficit states to meet the requirements under theNational Food Security Act, 2013 by the FCI.
Andhra Pradesh produces an Average 130 lakh tonnes of paddy every year. According to official statistics, the production of paddy in the state is estimated at 134.15 lakh metric tonnes in 2020-21 as against 137.10 lakh MTs in 2019-20.
The FCI, in the draft report of the Committee on Public Undertakings (2020-21), mentioned that Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh are surplus states in terms of wheat procurement vis-a-vis their own consumption. Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are surplus states in terms of rice procurement vis–vis their own consumption.
According to the report, about a decade back, nearly 90% of stocks were moved from the north, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, which has now come down to 72%. This is due to an increase in procurement of rice in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal, and wheat in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The area under paddy in kharif 2020-21 in Andhra Pradesh was 16.90 lakh hectares against 15.26 lakh hectares in 2019-20, representing an increase of 10.7%. Similarly, the production of paddy in kharif 2020-21 was 71.37 lakh tonnes compared to 80.13 lakh tonnes in 2019-20, marking a decrease of 10.9%.
The area under paddy in rabi 2020-21 was 8.81 lakh hectares compared to 8.3 lakh hectares in 2019-20, translating to an increase of 6.1%. Similarly, the production under paddy in rabi 2020-21 was 61.89 lakh tonnes against 56.97 lakh tonnes in 2019-20, showing an increase of 8.6%.
Andhra Pradesh, on its own, procured 34,49,067 MTs of paddy with a value of Rs 6,286 crore from 2.22 lakh farmers in 2019-20. Similarly, in kharif of 2020-21 (October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021), a quantity of 47,49,844 MTs of paddy, valued at Rs 8,900 crore, was procured from 5.18 lakh farmers.
The gross area irrigated in Andhra Pradesh increased to 38.13 lakh hectares in 2019-20 from 36.35 lakh hectares in 2018-19.