Telangana Farmers Oppose Restricting ₹500 Paddy Bonus to Seven Varieties

Farmers across Telangana have opposed the state government’s decision to limit the ₹500-per-quintal bonus on the minimum support price to only seven notified varieties of paddy. Under current stipulations, farmers are required to produce purchase bills for seeds when selling their harvest at state procurement centres to prove eligibility.

Agricultural producers have raised concerns that the requirement unfairly penalises those who maintain and reuse their own quality seeds. According to estimates, roughly 25 per cent of farmers preserve foundation seeds, which remain viable for cultivation for approximately five years without requiring seasonal market purchases.

Manda Rajamallaiah, a farmer from Gopalpur, pointed out that many growers purchase certified foundation seeds developed by scientists at Telangana Agricultural University rather than relying on private commercial seeds. After the initial harvest, growers preserve a portion of the crop as seed stock for subsequent seasons, making it impossible to provide purchase receipts for every harvest.

The Telangana government introduced the ₹500-per-quintal bonus to encourage the cultivation of fine paddy varieties across the state. The incentive was restricted to seven specific varieties: BPT 5204, RNR 15048, HMT Sona, Jai Sriram, KNM 1638, WGL 44, and KNM 7715.

Under the official procurement guidelines, grain dimensions are also evaluated at procurement centres using callipers. To qualify, grain length must be below 6 mm, width below 2 mm, and the length-to-width ratio must measure 2.5 mm.

Farmers have urged the state government to extend the ₹500-per-quintal bonus to all foundation and fine paddy crops that satisfy the specified physical grain measurements, arguing that their self-preserved seeds produce high-quality yields that are in strong demand in the market.