AMN / NEW DELHI
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is going on at good pace in the procuring States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Kerala.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in a statement said that so far 135.72 Lakh Metric Tonnes of paddy have been procured against the last year corresponding purchase of 109.54 Lakh Metric Tonnes. This shows an increase of 23.91 per cent over last year. The Ministry said, out of the total purchase of 135.72 Lakh Metric Tonnes, Punjab alone has contributed 88.44 Lakh Metric Tonnes which is 65.16 per cent of total procurement. It said, about 11.57 Lakh farmers have already benefited from the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season procurement Operations with MSP value of over 25 thousand 625 crore rupees.
The Ministry said, based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 45.10 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Pulse and Oilseeds of Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme. It said, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has also procured over 894 Metric Tonnes of Moong and Urad having MSP value of 6.43 crore rupees benefitting 871 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana.
The Ministry said, Cotton procurement operations under MSP are also going on smoothly in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.