The State Government on Thursday claimed that Odisha has become a rice surplus State and it now procures more quantities of rice than the requirements for the Public Distribution System (PDS) and other welfare schemes.
This was revealed at the State-level Procurement Committee Meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra at the Secretariat. Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Secretary Madhusudan Padhi presented the latest status of procurement for discussion.The Government agensies procured more than 32.92 lakh MT of paddy during 2013-14, which is more than 22.28 MT of rice.
Padhi said the entire paddy that came to mandis during the kharif marketing season was procured. The OSCSC alone procured 96 per cent of paddy and other agencies like NAFED, TDCC, MARKFED, and FCI procured the rest.The sale of paddy by farmers in some districts was low in comparison to the last year as crops lost due to the cyclone Phailin.A total of 2,292 PACS, 139 women self-help groups(WSHGs) and 13 Pani Panchayats were involved in procurement by the OSCSC. The PACS procured 92.22 per cent while WSHGs procured 1 per cent and Pani panchyats 0.06 per cent.
The farmers have been paid maximum support price within 7 days of sale through their bank accounts, Padhi said.Cooperation Secretary Bishnupada Sethi appraised that till now the storage capacity for 10.29 lakh MT has been created. Other projects have been put to first track and it is expected that within a year the storage capacity will be enhanced to 15.29 lakh MT, he said.It was decided at the meeting that Rabi procurement will start from Friday in 9 districts, Baleswar, Bargarh, Bhadrakh, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nuapada, Rayagada and Sambalputr. District Collectors have been advised to complete Rabi procurement before onset of monsoon, Padhi said.