The Hindu Business Line : SHGs chosen for paddy procurement

The women self help groups (SHGs), which have impressed the World Bank Managing Director, Mr Graeme Wheeler, with their successes, are readying themselves for executing the big task of paddy procurement assigned to them by the Andhra Pradesh Government.

The Government, which had used the SHGs in maize procurement last year, has decided to use their services in paddy procurement.

Pilot basis

Accordingly, the officials have identified at least 100 SHGs for carrying out the task on a pilot basis.

"Most of them are in the Telangana region," a senior bureaucrat, who accompanied the World Bank Managing Director, told Business Line.

Asked why the focus was on the SHGs in Telangana region, the bureaucrat said the groups were stronger there.

Bigger plans

The Government had still bigger plans. "Procurement of paddy by SHGs is one aspect of the plan. The idea is to increase the procurement levels in order to mobilise more rice into the public distribution system," he said.

To meet the gaps in the PDS needs, the Government had been getting rice from the North, mostly from Punjab.

"If we can generate enough rice stocks locally, we can as well distribute the same through the PDS, avoiding the Punjab rice," the official said.

More groups

If the experiment succeeded this year, the Government would like to add more groups into the procurement process. The procurement target for the kharif season was put at 20 lakh tonnes.

More Stories on : Rural Development | Rice | Gender | Andhra Pradesh

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