Government continues to procure Kharif crops at existing MSP schemes
Mar 17, 2021
New Delhi [India], March 17 : The government said on Wednesday it continues to procure Kharif crops at minimum support price (MSP) from farmers as was done in previous seasons.
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in procuring states and Union Territories (UTs) of 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.
These states purchased of over 680.68 LMTs of paddy till March 15, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
An increase of 13.98 per cent is seen against last year's corresponding purchase of 597.18 LMT. Punjab alone has contributed 202.82 LMT out of the total purchase of 680.68 LMT, which is 29.79 per cent of total procurement.
About 99.88 lakh farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement operations with MSP value of Rs 1.28 crore.
Based on proposal from states, approval was accorded for procurement of 106.62 LMT of pulse and oilseeds of KMS 2020-21 and Rabi marketing season 2021 for states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under price support scheme (PSS).
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were given a sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of copra (perennial crop). For other states or UTs, approval will be accorded on receipt of proposals for the procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra under PSS.
Procurement of FAQ grade of mentioned crops will be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from registered farmers and if the market rate goes below MSP during notified harvesting period in respective states or UTs by central nodal agencies through state nominated procuring agencies.
The government through its nodal agencies procured about 3 lakh MT of moong, urad, tur, gram, groundnut pods and soya-bean till March 15, 2021, worth Rs 1,774 crore MSP benefitting around 1.9 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan under Kharif 2020-21 and Rabi 2021 seasons.
Similarly, 2089 MT of copra worth Rs 52 crore MSP has been procured benefitting 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu till March 15, 2021. The respective state or UTs governments are making necessary arrangements for commencement of procurement from the date decided by respective states based on arrivals of pulses and oilseeds.
Procurement operations of seed cotton (kapas) under MSP scheme are going on smoothly in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka.
A quantity of around 91 lakh cotton bales worth Rs 27 crore has been procured till March 15 which benefit about 18.9 lakh farmers.
