GUWAHATI:
The Assam government is looking to procure 24 lakh MT of paddy from the farmers of the state in 2026, state minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on October 1.
“We have set a target of procuring 24 lakh MT by 2026, which will enable us to meet our requirement under the National Food Security Act and ensure incentives for the state government from the Centre also,” Das said while addressing a press conference.
“During the Kharif Marketing Season, various Central and state agencies procure 5,56,278 MT of paddy for Rs 972 crore benefitting 43,978 farmers across the state,” Dass said.
The Assam government had earlier set a target of procuring 10 lakh MT of paddy at a Minimum Support Price (MSP), which is Rs 1,940 per quintal, from the state.
The procurement of paddy for the 2022-23 Kharif Marketing Season will begin on October 1 and end on September 30, 2023.
The minister said the state government once again set a target of procurement of 10 lakh MT paddy this year for this KMS, though the government is in a position to increase its intake manifold if farmers come forward to sell.
There is a shortfall of 40 per cent to meet the target set for procurement of paddy from farmers for 2021-22, Dass said.
Dass said lack of awareness was a major issue for farmers of the state. “The MSP by the government was Rs 1,940 per quintal last season and has been increased to Rs 2,040 per quintal this year. In the open market, they get about Rs 1100-1200 per quintal. We have been reaching out to them to come forward and sell to the government agencies for better price realisation,” he said.
The state government could procure 5,65,278 MT (56.35 per cent) of paddy against its target of 10,03,200 paddy during the 20211-22.
Two state agencies Assam State Agro Marketing Board (ASAMB) procured 5,450 MT against a target of 5,950 MT (91.60 per cent) and Assam Food and civil supplies corporation Ltd (AFCSCL) procured 239335 MT paddy against a target of 238450 MT (100.37 per cent) from the state farmers during the season.
Four central agencies Food Corporation of India (FCI) procured 242715 MT paddy against a target of 558600 MT (43.45 per cent), National Federation of the Farmers’ Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India (NACOF) procured 16,388 MT against a target of 34,500 MT (47.50 per cent), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) procured 53,464 MT against 146200 MT (36.57 per cent) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Limited (NCCF)procured 7,925 MT paddy against a target of 19,500 MT (40.65 per cent) of paddy during the year.
“While the state agencies have done well the central agencies are under-performed,” Dass said.
“Even as the percentage of the target achieved may seem low, in terms of quantity the state has performed much better compared with previous years,” the minister said.
The paddy procurement in 2020-21 was 2.12 lakh MT, down from 3.15 lakh MT in the previous year. It was 1.51 lakh MT in 2018-19.