The government’s drive to purchase grain has resulted in a significant increase in the purchase of paddy in Chhattisgarh, which has reached a record 10.7 million tonne (MT) against the current season’s target of 9.1 MT. This increase in grain purchases has been attributed to the new government’s decision to offer farmers bonuses above the minimum support prices (MSP).
The aggregate paddy purchase deficit under MSP operations by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies decreased to 7.73% at 56.04 MT on Thursday from 13% three weeks earlier, thanks to higher grain purchases in the central Indian states.
According to sources who spoke to FE, Chhattisgarh has requested that the food ministry adjust the season’s paddy purchase goal in order to buy more grain from the farmers. In the current season, the state wants to buy 13 MT of paddy from farmers. In Chhattisgarh, farmers produce 87.53 MT of paddy during the 2022–2023 season (October–September). Officials stated that as more paddy is bought in Chhattisgarh, the overall shortfall in paddy procurement will be made up.
After regaining control of the state, the BJP pledged to buy 21 quintals of paddy per acre of rice from Chhattisgarh farmers for `3100/quintal. In comparison to the previous season, the center has raised the MSP of the common variety of paddy by more than 7% to Rs 2,183/quintal for the 2023–24 growing season. In August of last year, the government increased the amount of rice it intended to buy for the kharif season from 49.5 MT to 52.1 MT (77.6 MT paddy). According to sources, the current kharif season (2023–24) is expected to see a total kharif paddy procurement of about 73.5 MT (49.2 MT for rice).
Telangana (4.53 MT), Madhya Pradesh (4.05 MT), Odisha (3.18 MT), Uttarakhand (0.71 MT), Tamil Nadu (0.54 MT), Punjab (18.54 MT), Haryana (5.88 MT), and Uttar Pradesh (4.72 MT) are now the top contributors to paddy procurement. Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), now known as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), FCI provides 38 MT of rice per year to the recipients. Except for 37 MT that are receivable from millers, FCI now has 19.02 MT of rice stocks. Compared to the 7.61 MT buffer for January 1, the rice stock is low.
Significant contributions are made to the central rice pool by states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, Punjab, and Chhattisgarh, which is utilized to provide grain to PMGKAY recipients. In addition, rice obtained from grain surplus nations is kept on hand as a buffer stock with FCI. In addition, rice obtained from grain surplus nations is kept on hand as a buffer stock with FCI. Paddy is given to millers to be turned into rice after being purchased from farmers by FCI and state agencies. The ratio of rice to pady is 67%.
