Andhra to sell super-fine rice at ₹50 a kg, onions at ₹35, and pay MSP to move farmers off paddy

Andhra Pradesh will sell super-fine rice at ₹50 a kg and onions at ₹35 a kg through special counters at Rythu Bazars, Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu said on Friday (September 25, 2026). The government has also drawn up a plan to shift 8.81 lakh hectares to pulses, maize and oilseeds this rabi, and will buy a fixed share of the harvest at the minimum support price (MSP).

The rice on offer would include the KNM and BPT varieties, Mr. Atchannaidu said. Chakki wheat flour would be supplied through the public distribution system at ₹27 a kg, and palm oil and red gram at subsidised prices.

A group of Ministers comprising Mr. Atchannaidu, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav and Health Minister Satyakumar Yadav reviewed prices of essential commodities, MSP procurement and the rabi crop plan on Friday. The proposals were later placed before Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr. Atchannaidu said.

The crop diversification plan envisages shifting three lakh hectares from paddy, four lakh hectares that remained unsown during kharif and 1.5 lakh hectares from reduced chilli cultivation to alternative crops.

The plan targets chickpea cultivation on 1.88 lakh hectares, maize on 1.51 lakh hectares and black gram on 1.27 lakh hectares. Sunflower, green gram, groundnut, rabi sorghum, red gram, onions and vegetables under drip irrigation, millets and green manure crops will account for the remaining area.

Prakasam district has been allocated the largest area, 1.08 lakh hectares, under the plan, followed by YSR Kadapa and Palnadu with 82,000 hectares each and Nellore with 78,000 hectares.

The government has decided to procure 100% of the ragi, red gram and black gram from farmers who register in advance, at the MSP. It will also procure the entire quantity of green manure seeds produced by farmers. Up to 30% of the production of green gram, chickpea, groundnut and sunflower will be procured at the MSP, the Minister said.

The government would seek the Centre’s support to include jowar and ragi in the PDS and procure them at the MSP. It would also seek an allocation of one lakh tonnes of red gram from buffer stocks under the price stabilisation fund.

Onions have no MSP, so the State would procure them through its price stabilisation fund and sell them in the market, Mr. Atchannaidu said. Measures would also be taken to expand onion cultivation to non-traditional areas and reduce dependence on supplies from Maharashtra.

The government estimates that ₹2,216.48 crore will be required to support procurement operations, including a government guarantee of ₹1,979 crore for agricultural produce and ₹237.48 crore towards procurement operations.

The Minister said ₹278 crore would be released to the Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Development Corporation, comprising ₹184 crore in pending dues and an additional ₹94 crore. A budget of ₹190 crore had also been proposed for protective irrigation to safeguard crops.

Paddy procurement from November 1

Andhra Pradesh will begin procuring kharif paddy on November 1, with a target of 37 lakh tonnes and arrangements for prompt payment to farmers, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar said on Friday.

The State will establish 2,619 procurement centres and deploy about 24,000 personnel. About 6.10 crore gunny bags will be kept ready, and nearly 31,000 GPS-enabled vehicles will be deployed to transport the paddy, the Minister said.

The government will also directly credit transportation charges to farmers who use their own vehicles to transport paddy from procurement points to rice mills, he said.

Mr. Manohar said the government had paid about ₹12,000 crore to farmers for paddy procured during the previous kharif season, and more than 92% of the amount had been credited to their bank accounts within 24 hours.

The procurement target could be revised depending on the crop situation and rainfall, he said. The government would consult the Centre if the estimated production warranted an increase in the procurement target.

The Minister directed officials, joint collectors and rice millers to coordinate closely and ensure that farmers faced no difficulties during procurement. Special help centres would also be set up at the State and district levels to address farmers’ grievances.

Earlier, he addressed a State-level workshop on paddy procurement operations for the kharif marketing season (KMS) 2026-27 in Vijayawada.