Paddy worth Rs 10.53 cr procured in last 48 hrs; MSP buying begins in all states: Govt

Amid widespread farmers' protest against new farm laws, Centre on Monday came out with latest data of paddy procurement in last 48 hours to allay any apprehensions over minimum support price (MSP) buying.

With latest procurement data, government aims to send a clear mess - it has intention of scrapping MSP and that it has put in a mechanism for procurement of t only summer-sown paddy but also pulses and oilseeds this year.

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana and several or states are protesting against new farm laws which y feel will lead to procurement in hands of corporates and end of MSP regime.

"About 5,637 tonnes of paddy at MSP of Rs 1,868 per quintal has been procured from farmers of Haryana and Punjab till September 27. procurement of paddy for remaining states commenced from today," Union Agriculture Ministry said.

Paddy worth Rs 10.53 crore MSP value has been procured from 390 farmers of Haryana and Punjab in last 48 hours, it said in a statement.

Paddy procurement in ongoing 2020-21 Kharif Marketing Season has just started from September 26.

government has kept a rice procurement target of 495.37 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 kharif marketing season.

Besides paddy, government through its dal ncies has procured 34.20 tonnes of moong worth Rs 25 lakh MSP value from 40 farmers in Tamil Nadu till September 24.

Similarly, 5,089 tonnes of copra ( perennial crop) having MSP value of Rs 52.40 crore has been procured, benefitting 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against sanctioned quantity of 95.75 lakh tonnes for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it said.

Based on proposal from states, ministry said it has given d for procurement of a total 13.77 lakh tonnes of kharif pulses and oilseeds from states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana.

"For or states/UTs, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposal for kharif pulses and oilseeds and procurement will be made as per Price Support Scheme (PSS), if market rates goes below its MSP," it added.

cotton procurement for 2020-21 season will commence from October 1.

In a separate statement, food ministry said paddy procurement at MSP rate has begun from Monday in remaining states as well.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) and states' procurement ncies have been asked to ensure hassle-free procurement and MSP payments to farmers, it said.

Besides, uniform specification for foodgrains has been issued for paddy procurement. For first time, uniform specification has also been issued for buying fortified rice kernels of grade A and common paddy variety, it added.

state governments have been asked to create awareness about uniform specifications among farmers to ensure that y get  due price for ir produce and any rejection of stocks is completely avoided.

All states/UTs and FCI have been advised that procurement during this year may be strictly in accordance with uniform specifications, it added. 

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