New Delhi: The process of procurement of Kharif crops at minimum support price from farmers by the Government is continuing during the Kharif Marketing Session (KMS) 2020-21 as per their existing MSP schemes, as has been done in the previous seasons.
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is going smoothly. Paddy from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tripura Purchase is being made. Till March 17, 2021, more than 690.51 lakh MT of paddy has been procured from farmers of these states and Union Territories, whereas during the same period last year only 600.99 lakh MT of paddy was purchased. This is 14.89 percent more than the purchases made during the same period of the previous year. Out of the total procurement of 690.51 lakh MT of paddy, Punjab alone has 202.82 lakh MT, which is 29.37 percent of the total purchase.
About 100.32 lakh farmers have been paid Rs 1,30,368.35 crore on the minimum support price for the paddy purchased so far.
Further, based on the proposal received from the states, prices for Kharif Marketing Session 2020-21 and Rabi Marketing Session 2021 from states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Procurement of 107.08 lakh metric tonnes of pulses and oilseeds has also been approved under the support scheme (PSS). Approval has also been given for the purchase of 1.23 lakh metric tonnes of copra (perennial crop) from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Further, if the market rates in the respective States and Union Territories fall below the MSP during the notified crop period, the price support scheme to these States and Union Territories by the Central Nodal Agencies through the State’s designated purchasing agencies ( Approval will also be given on receipt of proposals for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra crops under PSS) so that FAQ grades of these crops can be procured directly from registered farmers at the minimum support price notified for the year 2020-21. .
In the current kharif season till March 17, 2021, the government through its nodal agencies has procured 3,40,629.30 MT of moong, urad, tur, gram, groundnut pods and soyabean at MSP prices. The procurement has generated an income of Rs 1,825.62 crore to 1,91,247 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan in the Kharif season 2020-21 and Rabi season 2021.
Similarly, 5,089 MT copra (perennial crop) has been procured from the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. During this period, Rs 52.40 crore has been paid on the minimum support price till March 17, 2021 benefiting 3,961 farmers. The governments of the states and Union Territories concerned with these are making necessary arrangements to start procurement by the respective states on the basis of arrival of kharif pulses and oilseed crops.
The procurement of cotton from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka is also progressing smoothly under the Minimum Support Price Scheme. As on 17 March 2021, 91,86,803 bales of cotton have been procured from 18,97,005 farmers at an MSP value of Rs 26,719.51 crore.