Paddy procurement has registered a record increase of 19.92 per cent under the Kharif Marketing Season, as the Centre continues to procure crops from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes.
As per an official release of the government, Paddy is being procured smoothly in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. As of the latest figures, the Centre has purchased over 248.99 LMTs of paddy till Saturday, marking a19.92 percent increase amid the still ongoing season.
“Out of the total purchase of 248.99 LMT, Punjab alone has contributed 175.24 LMT which is 70.37 per cent of total procurement. About 21.09 lakh farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing procurement operations with MSP value of Rs. 47010.10 crore,” said Centre as per a release.
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The Ministry has also stated that an approval of 5 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Pulse and Oilseeds has been accorded for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme. Procurement operations of seed cotton under MSP are also underway in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Earlier this week, Food Minister Piyush Goyal in a virtual briefing said that the Food Corporation of India and the state agencies will procure a record quantity of 742 Lakh Metric Tonnes of paddy during this Kharif season. Piyush Goyal said last year, only 627 Lakh Metric Tonnes paddy was procured. ‘The number of purchase centres for Kharif 2020-21 have also been increased from 30,709 to 39,122,’ he added.
The Minister informed that pulses including Moong, Urad, and Tur have been supplied from buffer stocks to different States and Union territories. Goyal said that 2 Lakh Metric Tonne of Tur from the buffer stock will be disposed of through the open market sale in the next two weeks.
Read: Food Minister Piyush Goyal Announces Increase In Paddy Procurement, Halts Onion Exports
(With Agency Inputs)
