Key points:
- The data showed that the government had paid a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 54,147 crore to almost 2.7 million farmers.
- The government procured 24.1 million tonnes of paddy last year, until November 17.
- The food ministry has increased its summer-sown crop procurement operation.
- The government has provided additional free food offers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
- Under the PMGKY, the cumulative allocation is 32.1 million tons. 21.4 million tons of rice, as well as 10.6 million tonnes of wheat, were included.
28.6 million tonnes of paddy was procured by the Union government, 18.6 per cent more expensive than the amount in the corresponding period last year with Punjab’s share being the highest at almost 70 per cent, according to data from the Food Ministry till November 17.
MPS for the rice-growing states:
The data showed that the government had paid a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 54,147 crore to almost 2.7 million farmers in main rice-growing states, such as Telangana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, so far.
Punjab contributed 19.6 million tonnes:
More than 19.6 million tonnes is contributed by Punjab alone, which is 69.7 per cent of the overall procurement. The government procured 24.1 million tonnes of paddy last year, until November 17.
As per the official report:
Of course, this year’s production of Kharif or summer crops is likely to be a record 144.5 million tonnes, slightly higher than the 143.4 million tonnes recorded during the 2019-2020 Kharif season, according to an official forecast.
One of the reasons behind higher procurement this year is higher demand, fuelled by a robust monsoon.
Union Gov to buy a quantity of paddy:
The Union government is on the path to buying a record quantity of paddy this year as well to blunt a politically daunting farmers’ agitation against a collection of laws enacted to liberalizing the farm sector.
Farmers protesting the laws believe the changes will erode their bargaining power and lead to a breakdown of the procurement system, which refers to the government’s purchasing of farm produce at federally set guaranteed rates.
According to the official estimate of the food ministry:
The official estimates of the food ministry show that the government’s total summer paddy procurement (2020-21) is likely to cross 74.2 million tonnes, up from its total quantity of 62.7 million procured during 2019-20, a rise of 18 per cent.
Increase in paddy buying centres:
The food ministry has increased its summer-sown crop procurement operations to cover an approximate 10.5 million paddy growers, compared to 10.2 million last year.
The government has also expanded the number of paddy buying centres, which now stands at 39,122, by 27 per cent, up from 30,709 last year, official statistics show.
According to Abhishek Agrawal:
According to Abhishek Agrawal of Comtrade, a commodity trading company, higher procurement can make it difficult to handle stocks unless the government unloads more like a food grant for the poor.
The government has provided additional free food offers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), launched as a result of Covid-19, from April till November 2020.
This has opened up bulging state-held granaries’ storage capacities and made way for high paddy procurement. Under the PMGKY, the cumulative allocation is 32.1 million tons. 21.4 million tons of rice, as well as 10.6 million tonnes of wheat, were included.
Total federally owned food stocks stood at 77.3 million tonnes as of September 1 2020, up to 71.2 million tonnes along with the same date last year.
