Kharif paddy procurement begins in Sonitpur district

A Correspondent

Tezpur: The Sonitpur district administration has begun the process of procurement of paddy for the Kharif marketing season for the current year through Paddy Procurement Centres of the Food Corporation of India and Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board.

A meeting of the District Paddy Procurement Committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Manvendra Pratap Singh was held recently in the conference hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the presence of CEO, Zilla Parishad, Diganta Baishya, Additional DC Parag Kakaty, president of Sonitpur Zilla Parishad, Dolly Surin, District Agriculture Officer Prakash Bora, and other members and representatives of rice mill associations.

The Deputy Commissioner directed the officials of various departments to supervise and facilitate the entire process of procurement of paddy from farmers.

Food Corporation of India will procure minimum 20,000 metric tonnes of paddy while the ASAMB will procure a minimum of 1,200 metric tonnes of paddy through the PPCs at Dhekiajuli, Borsola and Jamuguri.

The meeting resolved that farmers will do a preliminary test to determine the quality of paddy and fixed the maximum permissible moisture content at 17 per cent. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for common variety of paddy has been fixed at Rs 1,815 per quintal and the rate of Grade-A variety of paddy has been fixed at Rs 1,835 per quintal.

Among the important resolutions adopted in the meeting were that interested farmers would have to submit the Farmers’ Certificates duly countersigned by Agriculture Development Officers and submit details of functional bank accounts mandatorily. The Deputy Commissioner instructed the officials to ensure that no middle-men/ mediators are involved in the process so that the farmers get their due and that farmers can report or file a complaint with Additional Deputy Commissioner Parag Kakaty (9435180557) or Deputy Director, Food and Civil Supplies, BC Bordoloi (9435002237) regarding any problems faced in this connection.

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