2.5 mt of paddy worth Rs 5,200 cr procured in Uttar Pradesh so far

The Uttar Pradesh government has accelerated the pace of paddy procurement in the current kharif marketing season 2022-23 to keep the rural economy in good shape and boost farm income.

So far, state government agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have procured more than 2.5 million tonnes (mt) of paddy from the farmers.
 

While the total payables against purchase is to the tune of nearly Rs 5,200 crore, the farmers have already received about Rs 4,000 crore in their registered bank accounts.

With the Lok Sabha elections less than a year and a half away, the Yogi Adityanath government is taking every step to keep the farm community upbeat and deflect potential opposition onslaught.

According to the state government, about 375,000 paddy farmers have benefitted under the minimum support price (MSP) scheme to ensure remunerative market prices to the growers.

In the 2022-23 kharif season, the MSP of paddy has been fixed at Rs 2,040 per quintal (100 kg) for common paddy and Rs 2,060 per quintal for Grade A paddy.

UP is tentatively targeting to procure 7 mt of paddy during the five months (October-February) of the procurement season. Therefore, about 35 per cent of the target has been met with more than two months still left in the purchase schedule.

About 4,400 paddy procurement centres have been set up for the benefit of farmers. To ensure transparency and efficiency, the procurement centres have been geo-tagged by the Remote Sensing Application Centre, Lucknow.

These outlets are operated by UP Cooperative Federation (PCF), UP food and civil supplies department, UP Cooperative Union, UP Consumer Cooperative Union, UP State Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad, and FCI.

According to rough estimates, almost Rs 14,000 crore will be paid to the UP paddy farmers if the government achieves its target.

Earlier, the chief minister had underlined that the farm payment should be prompt and warned that slack officials would be taken to task.

Paddy, wheat, and sugarcane are the three top cash crops in UP. They collectively account for about Rs 50,000 crore in annual payout to farmers. While paddy and wheat are primarily procured by the government agencies, an overwhelming majority of the UP sugar mills are run by the private sector.