Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Assam has recorded remarkable success in its paddy procurement drive for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25, achieving 89% of the total target with 850569.54 Metric Tonnes (MT) procured against the target of 9,54,001 MT. This has brought direct benefits to more than 66,500 farmers across the state.
Four agencies, both central and state, were engaged in the procurement drive in KMS 2024-25. The agencies are Assam Food & Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (AFCSCL), Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board (ASAMB), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Substantial progress has been made by Assam in its paddy procurement efforts for the first crop of the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25, with a total of 697802.74 MT of paddy procured against a target of 8,01,082 MT. This achievement has benefited 55,051 farmers across the state. Several agencies played a crucial role in this procurement drive, with AFCSCL procuring 541957.53 MT against a target of 5,88,300 MT, ASAMB procuring 3524.6 MT against a target of 7454.15 MT, FCI procuring 17223.42 MT against a target of 100969.85 MT, and NAFED exceeding its target by procuring 135097.19 MT against a target of 104358.1 MT.
In the second crop of KMS 2024-25, robust paddy procurement figures are seen, with a total of 152761.80 MT of paddy procured from 11,479 farmers by various agencies. The overall procurement nearly met the ambitious target of 1,52,919 MT, demonstrating efficient operations by the participating agencies. AFCSCL emerged as the leading agency, procuring 112432.51 MT against a target of 1,11,501MT; NAFED also showed strong performance, procuring 34998.61 MT, closely matching its target of 35,000 MT; ASAMB procured 4992.6 MT against a target of 5,000 MT; and FCI recorded a procurement of 339.08 MT against its target of 1,400 MT.
CM Dr Hemanta Biswa Sarma expressed satisfaction at the record paddy procurement, posting on his X handle, "In the Kharif cycle 2024-25, we have procured over 8 lakh MT of paddy from our farmers, up 115% from 3.94 lakh MT in 2023-24. This is a milestone as it enables greater earnings for our farmers and better execution of our food security schemes."
For the 2024-25 Kharif Marketing Season, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy is Rs 2,300 per quintal for Common grade and Rs 2,320 per quintal for Grade-A paddy. Paddy procurement in KMS 2024-25 ended on September 30 in the state. Agriculture department officials stated that the Kharif Marketing Season, 2025-26, is slated to start soon, with revised targets.
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