Odisha targets 11 lakh MT paddy procurement in Rabi season

Bhubaneswar: After all-time high paddy procurement during the Kharif season, Odisha Government has now set a target to procure 11 lakh MT of paddy during the current Rabi season.

After a review meeting of Paddy Procurement Committee, Chief Secretary AP Padhi on Saturday directed the concerned officials to undertake the procurement in phased manner. He also advised the officials to make the entire paddy procurement process online and ensure payment to farmers’ accounts within two days of procurement.

This year, decision to involve skilled and trained women SHGs in the paddy procurement operations was also discussed during the meeting.

According to official reports, 8.32 lakh acres of land has been registered for paddy procurement this season. Out of the total 2.08 lakh farmers, who have registered their names so far, 15, 698 farmers are sharecroppers.

The registration process will continue till the end of this month whereas the procurement of Rabi crops will continue till last week of June, reports added.

The paddy will be procured at minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,750 per quintal this year.

Meanwhile, purchase of Rabi crops have already started in Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Rayagada and Nuapada districts and 1.48 lakh MT of paddy has been purchased so far, reports said.