Chhattisgarh Government to Procure 20 Quintals of Paddy per Acre from Farmers in the Upcoming Kharif Season
TFP Bureau Raipur 28 July 2023: As per the announcement made by the Chief Minister, in the upcoming Kharif marketing year 2023-2024, the state will procure paddy from registered farmers at the rate of 20 quintals per acre. The government aims to purchase an estimated 125 million metric tons of paddy from farmers in the state during the upcoming Kharif season. Officials have been directed to ensure all necessary arrangements, including the provision of storage facilities, to facilitate the smooth procurement of paddy.
Approximately 750,000 metric tons of gunny bags will be required for the paddy procurement process. The policy of using both new and old gunny bags will continue to be implemented. Notably, during the recent Cabinet sub-committee meeting, extensive discussions were held on determining the support price for paddy and maize production, farmer registration, availability of gunny bags, and financial arrangements for the upcoming marketing year 2023-24.
Officials from the Food Department informed that like previous years, the purchase of paddy from the farmers in the state will be substantial this year as well. Therefore, cooperative societies are being strengthened further. The number of procurement centers has been increased to 2,617 to facilitate the sale of paddy by farmers in the state. Last year, 24.96 lakh farmers were registered, covering an area of 32.15 lakh hectares. Due to the farmer-friendly policies and decisions of the state government, approximately 2.75 million new farmers had registered last year, and a record 107.53 lakh metric tons of paddy was procured from farmers. This year also, there is a possibility of an increase in the number of registered farmers. With the estimated target of procuring 125 million metric tons of paddy from farmers, arrangements are being made for adequate gunny bags and procurement facilities. Last year, there was sufficient arrangement for gunny bags for paddy procurement, which was successfully carried out through both online and offline token systems. This year, to achieve the estimated procurement target, around 7.5 lakh gunny bags will be required, including 4.03 lakh new and 3.43 lakh old ones. The Food Department is already preparing for the procurement of gunny bags.
During the meeting, officials mentioned that an estimated 33.61 lakh hectares of land is expected to be under paddy cultivation in the state during this Kharif season. In accordance with the announcement made by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the state will procure 20 quintals of paddy per acre from farmers in the marketing year 2023-24. Necessary preparations are underway to strengthen the paddy procurement system in cooperative societies.
This includes processes from farmer registration to gunny bag arrangements, facilities at procurement centers for farmers, and payment arrangements.
