Sambalpur: Kharif paddy procurement will begin from November 5, said food supplies and consumer welfare minister Surya Narayan Patro here at a meeting Wednesday. Presiding over a meeting at the RDC office, Patra said the paddy procurement would begin from Bargarh and Kalahandi districts in the first phase. The government has set a target to procure 55 lakh metric tonne of paddy during kharif marketing season (KMS) 2018-19.
He assured that the farmers would get money directly transferred to their bank accounts through online mode. All payments shall be made within 24 to 72 hours of the sale of their paddy. In the first phase, the paddy will be procured by the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) from all the districts.
The OSCSC shall procure paddy through PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society), Large Area Adivasi Multipurpose Cooperative Society (LAMPCS), Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) and Pani Panchayats while emphasis will be given on opening of adequate number of Paddy Purchase Centres (mandis) by the societies on behalf of procuring agencies.
Paddy will be procured from those farmers who have registered on the portal of the food supplies and consumer welfare department. Paddy will be procured at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as announced by the Centre. While the common variety paddy will be procured at Rs 1,750 per quintal, Grade-A variety would be procured at Rs 1,770 per quintal, sources said.
PNN
