Paddy harvesting in Punjab begins;govt to procure 120L tonnes

Harvesting of kharif (summer) paddy has started in Punjab and the government is aiming to procure 120 lakh tonnes of the grain this season, state Food and Agriculture Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon said today.
The target for rice procurement is lower by two lakh tonnes from the previous year as the production of common variety rice is expected to be lower in view of crop diversification, the Minister said.
"Harvesting of kharif paddy has started in the state. We are targeting to procure 120 lakh tonnes of the grain this year, two lakh tonnes lower than the last year," Kairon told reporters after meeting Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

The area under basmati rice is higher as compared to common variety rice, he added.
In his meeting with the Union Food Minister, Kairon demanded that the Centre direct state-run FCI to accept rice that has moisture level of up to 14 per cent with one per cent value cut.
"From the current year onwards, the Government of India has decided to buy rice that has moisture content upto 14 per cent with no option of value cut. Since moisture content varies, we requested to retain the earlier rule," he said.

He also demanded that the Centre allow the state to pack 37.5 kilos of rice in a bag till the time a central team comes and evaluates how much quantity of grain can be filled a bag.

"We have been asked to pack 40 kilos of rice in a bag. Even we want maximum grain should be packed in a bag, but practically only 37 to 37.5 kilos of rice can be packed. We have asked to permit packing of 37.5 kilos of rice," he said.
The last issue raised before the Centre was to fix a time limit of 15 days for filing an appeal if a dispute arise when FCI does not accept the grain. At present, there is no time limit, he added.