C'garh: Paddy procurement to begin on Dec 1

The procurement of paddy for this Kharif season in Chhattisgarh will begin on December 1 and continue till February 15, an official here said. At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday, the state cabinet approved the procurement and custom milling policy for paddy and maize under Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the ongoing Kharif marketing season, he said.

The state government will procure paddy from primary cooperative societies starting December 1 till February 15 next year, the official said. The procurement was scheduled to start from November 15, he said adding that the cabinet decided to postpone the process, citing a delay in ripening of paddy and pending registration of farmers with cooperative societies for selling their produce.

The state government plans to procure over 85 lakh metric tons (LMT) of paddy at Rs 2,500 per quintal from farmers this Kharif season, and intends to contribute surplus rice for National Food Security Act (NFSA) through Food Corporation of India (FCI), he said. As many as 15 quintals of rice per acre will be procured from every registered farmer, he added.

Notably, Baghel had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy to Rs 2,500/quintal in the larger interest of the farmers, or authorise the state to procure the crop at an increased price, the official said. After the Centre hiked the MSP for paddy in July this year, the MSP for common grade paddy is Rs 1,815 per quintal and for Grade A crop, it is Rs 1,835 for 2019-20, he said.

After coming to power in the state last year, the Congress had fulfilled its poll promise to procure paddy at Rs 2,500 per quintal from the farmers..

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