India needs to import rice to offset shortfall: Minister
Published on November 18, 2009 at 17:30
NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): In order to the meet the shortfall in grains even though a surplus in the procurement by godowns, India is expected to import rice during the 2009-10 marketing season.
India’s Finance Minister, Pranab Mukharjee, who heads the Empowered Group of Ministers on foodgrains, said, since the start of procurement in October, the country procured around six million more grain so far.
However, the country needs some imports in order to offset the shortfall in some kharif crops due to the weak monsoon, he added. The minister did not mention the quantum and the timing of imports.
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Meanwhile, rice procurement by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies for 2009-10 crop marketing year has surpassed 11 million tonne as on 17th November 2009 Punjab and Haryana have contributed bulk of the total procurement with around 8.9 million tonne and 1.7 million tonne to the central pool.
The procurement in other key rice growing states such as Chhattisgarh (1.5 lakh tonne), Tamil Nadu (22,000 tonne), Andhra Pradesh (14,000 tonne), Kerala (80,000 tonne) and Chhattisgarh (7,000 tonne).
The natural response of villagers in times of drought and floods is to leave their crops and cattle to flee to cities. But ICRISAT in association with a woman's self help group in Andhra Pradesh demonstrates how information technology and involvement of farmers can help predict such natural calamities and deal with them 
