Assam: Government agencies allegedly avoid procuring paddy stockpiled by farmers

A CORRESPONDENT

NALBARI: Serious allegations of failure have once again emerged against the paddy procurement scheme implemented by the Assam government to increase farmers’ income and ensure fair prices for their produce. During the 2025–26 Kharif procurement season, thousands of farmers who had registered themselves for the sale of paddy were unable to sell their produce to government agencies, leaving a large quantity of paddy stockpiled in their hands. As a result, many farmers were allegedly forced to sell their paddy in the open market at significantly lower prices.

According to departmental data, the Kharif paddy procurement process for 2025–26 began in December last year and concluded on June 30. This year, the state had set a target of procuring 8 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. However, against the target, government agencies managed to procure only 688,796.40 metric tonnes. This means that procurement fell short of the target by approximately 1.11 lakh metric tonnes.

A total of 73,440 farmers had applied for paddy procurement this year. Of them, 72,098 farmers were registered for the sale of Kharif produce. However, by the end of the procurement process, government agencies purchased paddy from only 51,780 farmers. As a result, a large number of registered farmers were left out of the government procurement system.

Four agencies were entrusted with the responsibility of procuring paddy this year. These include the Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (AFCSCL), the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), the Food Corporation of India (FCI), and the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board (ASAMB).

According to departmental statistics, AFCSCL procured 537,191.46 metric tonnes of paddy from 41,548 farmers. NAFED procured 130,506.94 metric tonnes from 8,259 farmers, while the FCI procured 15,725.24 metric tonnes from 1,538 farmers. ASAMB procured 5,372.76 metric tonnes of paddy from 435 farmers.

Meanwhile, departmental data reportedly showed that registered farmers had a total of 1,064,703 metric tonnes of paddy in stock for sale. However, as only 688,796.40 metric tonnes were procured through the government procurement process, a large quantity of paddy remained unsold.

According to the available data, a total of 20,318 farmers were unable to sell their paddy at government procurement centres. As a result, approximately 375,906.60 metric tonnes of paddy remained unsold in their possession. With the government procurement process failing to absorb their produce, these farmers were compelled to depend on the open market. It may be mentioned that the government had fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy at ?2,369 per quintal this year. However, farmers who were unable to sell their produce through the government procurement system were allegedly forced to sell it in the open market at much lower prices. In markets across several districts, including parts of central Assam, many farmers were reportedly compelled to sell their paddy for only 1,200 to 1,500 per quintal.

The huge gap between the government-fixed MSP and the price received by farmers in the open market has caused serious financial losses to the farming community. Farmers have reportedly been forced to accept ?800 to 1,100 less per quintal than the government-supported price, making it difficult for many of them even to recover their production costs.

Farmers have alleged that complications in the government procurement system, limited procurement capacity, delays in procurement and a shortage of procurement centres prevented many farmers from selling their paddy to government agencies. Taking advantage of the situation, middlemen and some private buyers allegedly purchased paddy from farmers at extremely low prices.

Questions are now being raised among the farming community: if the government fixed the MSP at ?2,369 per quintal, why was a mechanism not put in place to procure the produce of all eligible registered farmers at that price? Why were government agencies unable to meet the procurement target despite a huge quantity of paddy remaining in the hands of farmers?

A section of farmers has alleged that there is a significant gap between the stated objectives of the government’s paddy procurement scheme and its actual implementation. Although the government claims to be working towards increasing farmers’ income and ensuring fair prices for their produce, a large number of farmers were allegedly forced to sell their paddy at low prices in the open market.

The development has already triggered strong resentment among farmers. A section of the farming community has alleged that the failure of the government procurement system has indirectly opened the way for a large quantity of paddy to reach middlemen. Farmers’ organisations and concerned citizens have demanded timely procurement from all eligible registered farmers, the establishment of adequate procurement centres and effective implementation of the MSP mechanism. Otherwise, farmers’ organisations and concerned citizens have warned that the paddy procurement scheme, introduced with the objective of increasing farmers’ income, may itself become a cause of financial loss for the farming community.

Also Read: Assam Begins KMS 2025-26 Second-Crop Paddy Procurement, Targets 1.79 Lakh MT