Raipur: The CG Govt has decided to procure pulses at MSP from farmers starting from the month of October to March 2023. This is for the first time the state administration has decided to procure pulses from 25 Mandis for which prior registration is mandated.

Arhar & Urad Dal under the Kharif Marketing season 2022-23 would be bought for Rs 6,600 per quintal and Rs 7,755 per quintal for Moong Dal. The procurement of urad and moong will be taken up from October 17, 2022, to December 16, 2022, while farmers can sell their arhar yield from March 13, 2023, to May 12, 2023. The procurement will be monitored by the State-run Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation (Markfed) under the nodal zones, an officer said.

“There has been a constant decrease in the acreage of pulse crops in the state and hence the state government is taking measures to convince the farmers to diversify from paddy,” Chhattisgarh’s Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey said. The decision to procure pulses at the MSP is part of the measures, he further said, adding that the initiative will also increase farmers’ income.

According to the 2022-23 Kharif plan, the acreage of pulse crops has increased from the previous year’s 277,330 hectares to 448,180 hectares, a jump of about 62 per cent. The pulses output has been targeted at 232,000 tonne, an increase of 67.51 per cent compared to the revised estimate of the previous season.