Adilabad: District authorities in the erstwhile Adilabad district are identifying alternative storage facilities, including private ginning mills and function halls, to accommodate jowar stocks as government godowns remain filled with procured rice, maize and jowar.
Officials said efforts are being intensified to expedite procurement of jowar from farmers in view of possible rains, to prevent crop damage. Farmers are bringing produce in large quantities to market yards due to lack of storage space in villages. The crop yield has been high this rabi season, with the state government offering ₹3,699 per quintal.
Agriculture market committee officials said private spaces are being explored to store both maize and jowar procured during the season. At Boath market, farmers have been advised to bring produce as per scheduled dates from May 18, as the yard will remain closed on May 16 and 17 due to lack of space.
Officials said existing stocks are expected to be cleared over the next two days to make room for fresh arrivals. They added that distribution of maize and jowar through the civil supplies department to fair price shops, hostels and residential schools from June 2 could ease storage constraints.
Farmers have also been directed to use facilities such as the Swapna cotton ginning factory for temporary storage. The district administration has arranged basic amenities, including drinking water and shaded areas, for farmers at procurement centres in view of high temperatures.
District collector Rajarshi Shah inspected the Adilabad market yard on Saturday and reviewed procurement operations. He directed officials to install five additional weighing machines to manage the influx of farmers and ensure faster processing, and to strengthen security at night.
He said new procurement centres would be opened at Kajjarla and Talamadugu godowns and instructed that elderly farmers be given priority. The Chanakya cotton ginning factory at Rampur Road has also been identified for storing jowar stocks.
The collector said about 20,000 gunny bags of jowar are arriving at the Adilabad market daily and added that measures have been taken to address shortages of gunny bags, labour and transport.
Officials from marketing, agriculture, transport and markfed departments are coordinating to streamline procurement operations.
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