Rs 14,000 crore to be infused via paddy procurement in Uttar Pradesh

An estimated Rs 14,000 crore is expected to be injected into the rural economy of Uttar Pradesh through the procurement of paddy in the current 2022-23 kharif marketing season.

During the current procurement cycle — effective for five months during October-February — the UP government is targeting to procure 7 million tonnes (MT) of paddy across the state.

In the 2022-23 kharif season, the minimum support price (MSP) has been fixed at Rs 2,040 per quintal for common paddy and Rs 2,060 per quintal for Grade A paddy. The average procurement price juxtaposed with the procurement target translates into a total farm payout of nearly Rs 14,000 crore in direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode if the government achieves its procurement target of 7Mt.

The paddy purchase is likely to gain momentum in the coming weeks, since the process has also begun in the eastern UP districts, where procurement commences from November 1. Procurement in western UP region begins on October 1.

Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to ensure timely payment to farmers, and warned against slackness in matters concerning the farmers’ community.

Reviewing the procurement process here recently, he underlined that paddy procurement centres should run smoothly so that farmers were not inconvenienced owing to the lack of proper infrastructure/resources or manpower.

“About 4,000 procurement centres have been set up across the state to facilitate the institutional purchase of paddy,” a senior government official said.

In UP, the procurement of paddy, wheat and sugarcane provides the bulk of financial resources, estimated at more than Rs 50,000 crore annually, to state farmers. While paddy and wheat are mainly procured by the central and state government entities, most of the sugar mills in UP are operated by the private sector.