Paddy procurement centre opened in Dibrugarh district

DIBRUGARH: With an aim to facilitate farmers to sell their paddy production to government agencies at Minimum Support Price (MSP), a Paddy Procurement Centre at Khowang Ghat in Dibrugarh district was formally opened on Tuesday, stated a press release.

The Paddy Procurement Centre was inaugurated by Dibrugarh Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajib Thapa in a function held at the campus of Baria Rice Mill of Khowang Ghat. The centre, which has been set up by the Food Corporation of India in collaboration with Dibrugarh district administration and Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, will procure paddy from the genuine farmers of Dibrugarh district at minimum support price and there will be no middlemen/ mediators in the whole process of procurement. The centre will function three days in a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

A total of 44 quintals of paddy was procured from 14 farmers on the first day. The government has set a target of 2000 MT for the PPC, Khowang Ghat till May, 2021. At the same time, Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajib Thapa, while inaugurating the PPC, asked Agriculture department officials present in the meeting to procure paddy three times the target fixed by the government in order to benefit a large section of the farmers of the area. He also asked the farmers who have availed this facility at the PPC to inform and mobilize more farmers in their respective areas to make use of this facility made available by the government for their benefit.

There were two paddy procurement centres set up in Dibrugarh district last year but due to low participation by farmers due to various factors, the target of paddy procurement as fixed by the government could not be met, due to which no PPCs were earmarked for the district this year. When this matter was brought to the notice of Dibrugarh Deputy Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha by a few interested farmers, he took special initiative to request the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department to set up a PPC in the area. And after due consideration, the department passed a notification in this regard vide letter no FSB.68/2017/303 dated January 22, 2021 to set up a PPC at Khowang Ghat in Dibrugarh district.

The Minimum Support Price for common grade paddy is fixed at Rs 1,868 for each quintal but most of the farmers are selling it for Rs 800 to Rs 1,200 a quintal on an average.

The meeting was also attended by Assistant Commissioner Jay Shivani, Deputy Director, FCS&CA Jugananda Changmai, District Agriculture Officer Somendra Goswami, FCI official Sandipan Borthakur and others.

Also read: Paddy procurement centre at Khowang Ghat to start functioning from February 9

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