The Odisha government has announced that paddy procurement will begin on November 21.
Arpit Pattnaik
Paddy procurement for the current Kharif season in the state will begin on November 21, as announced by Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari on Monday.
A ministerial meeting regarding paddy procurement was held, and following the meeting, Pujari confirmed that the procurement process will start in the Bargarh district. The state government will purchase paddy from farmers at a price of Rs 3,100 per quintal. This procurement price consists of a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,300 per quintal, along with an additional input assistance of Rs 800 per quintal.
To ensure a smooth paddy procurement process, designated officials will be assigned to mandis until the process is complete, with a supervisor overseeing every 4-5 mandis. Quality testing machines will be installed at the mandis to assess the quality of the paddy. Moreover, the transportation department will manage the transport of paddy from the mandis to the rice mills.
To prevent paddy smuggling from neighboring states, the government has decided to deploy patrolling teams and install CCTV cameras. This measure aims to ensure that only genuine farmers benefit from the procurement process. District collectors have been instructed to facilitate the entire procedure.
