The State Government on Wednesday enhanced its Kharif paddy procurement target this year to 45 lakh metric tonnes (MT). Earlier, the Government had set a target to procure 30 lakh MT.
“This year, paddy procurement target is fixed at 45 lakh MT, 50 per cent of which would be procured from the northern revenue districts and the Government will spend `6,500 crore for this,” said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Dasburma after attending a high-level preparatory meeting of district Collectors under the Northern Revenue Division at the RDC office in Sambalpur.
The review meeting was also attended by MSME Minister Jogendra Behera, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Secretary Madhusudan Padhy and Collectors of 12 districts of the Northern Revenue Division.
On November 6 and 7, Dasburma would also meet Collectors of the Southern and Central Revenue Divisions in Brahmapur and Cuttack, respectively.
Notably, the Government had already held a meeting with representatives of millers and farmers of the State recently for smooth paddy procurement. This year, around 3,000 paddy procurement centres (Mandis) would be opened across the State where procurement would begin from November 15.