RAIPUR: The Paddy procurement program in Chhattisgarh that began on November 1, 2022, is scheduled to conclude today. One of the few states in the country to procure paddy from farmers at minimum support price (MSP), Chhattisgarh has set a target to purchase 110LMT paddy. According to reports, C’grah has so far procured 107LMT.
As per the data released by the state govt, 23.39 lakh farmers have sold their paddy at the procurement centers set up for the Kharif marketing Season 2022-23. The officials said Rs 22,000 crore have been paid to farmers under the bank linking arrangement.
For the Kharif marketing season 2022-2023, the number of registered farmers for paddy sales reached about 2.5 million, including 0.23 million new farmers. An official communique on Jan 30th- more than 23,000 tonnes of paddy was purchased from 6,500 farmers. A DO for the lifting of 96 LMT paddy has also been issued, it added.
Last year, around 98 lakh MT of paddy was purchased from cultivators in the state. The volume of paddy procured in Chhattisgarh has surged to 9.8 mt in the Kharif marketing year 2021-22 from about 5.68 MT in 2017-2018.