Ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha poll and in view of the ongoing farmers’ stir in west UP, the state government set an ambitious target of procuring 50 lakh tons of paddy from farmers. The move is likely to pump in as much as Rs 8,500 crore into the rural economy.
During the last season, state government agencies procured 43 lakh tone from farmers against a target of 50 lakh tons.
On Monday, paddy procurement process kicked off in west and some central districts and will continue till January-end. Procurement in east UP and remaining central UP districts will start from November 1 and continue till February.
The UP Cabinet had earlier hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy from Rs 180 to Rs 200 per quintal. The price was revised from Rs 1,550 to Rs 1,750 per quintal for common variety and Rs 1,590 to Rs 1,770 per quintal for Grade-A paddy.
Besides, the government announced a bonus payment of Rs 20 per quintal over the MSP, up from Rs 15 per quintal given last year. This way, farmers will pocket an extra Rs 185 to Rs 205 per quintal as compared to the previous year.
If the government is able to meet the procurement target of 50 lakh tons, the total payout to farmers is likely to be more than Rs 8,500 crore.
In the recent wheat procurement season, the government had crossed its target of 50 lakh tons by procuring a total of 53 lakh tons.
Procurement agencies of the state government and Food Corporation of India will set up around 3,000 procurement centres across UP during the five-month season (October-February).
Meanwhile, Food Commissioner Alok Kumar said that the paddy procurement began in 31 districts under Meerut, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Agra, Aligarh, Jhansi and Lucknow divisions and would last till January 31.
It has been made mandatory for farmers to get themselves registered on the portal of Food department for verification.
Alok Kumar added that so far 1.81 lakh farmers had already registered on the official portal for selling their produce to procurement centres.
“The Revenue department will also verify farmers’ claims with their land records to ensure that only genuine farmers are onboard to benefit from the MSP system.” said the Food Commissioner.