Paddy procurement slow in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The State government did assure the farmers that it would procure ten lakh MT of paddy from them in the 2021-22 Kharif marketing season at an MSP (Minimum Support Price) of Rs 1,940 per quintal. The government, however, has set the paddy procurement target of around seven lakh MT for the six paddy-procuring agencies entrusted by it.

It is not all. Paddy procurement in the state is very slow. Till February, the six agencies procured only 67,364 MT of paddy from the state farmers in this Kharif marketing season.

In mid-January, the State Government carried out an awareness drive for paddy procurement from the state farmers through meetings at the panchayat areas. However, till February, only 9,844 farmers of the state could sell paddy to the government agencies at the fixed MSP.

The six government-entrusted paddy-procuring agencies are AFCSCL (Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd), ASAMB (Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board), FCI (Food Corporation of India), NACOF National Federation of Farmers' Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd. (NACOF), NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation) and NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India).

Till February, AFCSCL procured 22,616 MT against the target of 160450 MT, benefitting 3,131 farmers; ASAMB procured 2,176 MT against the target of 3,150 MT, benefitting 402 farmers; FCI procured 35,774 MT against the target of 4,02,000 MT, benefitting 5,268 farmers; NACOF procured 1,254 MT against the target of 15,000 MT, benefitting 194 farmers; NAFED procured 4,910 MT against 1,01,900 MT, benefitting 783 farmers; and NCCF procred 634 MT against the target of 11,500 MT, benefitting only 66 farmers.

These six agencies procure paddy from 179 PPCs (paddy procurement centres) in the state – 93 of FCI, 30 of AFCSCL, 27 of NAFED, 13 of NACOF, 12 of ASAMB and four of NCCF. These agencies can procure paddy till September this year. Since paddy procurement in January and February was slow, a question hangs in the air if the six agencies will be able to meet their respective targets.

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