Paddy procurement progressing smoothly: Centre

The Centre has said the paddy procurement for Kharif season has progressed smoothly like in the previous years and about 1.81 million farmers have benefitted so far.

In a statement, the consumer affairs, food and public distribution ministry said 290.98 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured until November 30 from 16 states and Union territories. It added the maximum procurement has been done from Punjab followed by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The statement said the procurement in the remaining states and Union territories is also gaining momentum. The procurement has been 67% less than that of last year, it added.

The statement comes as farm unions are demanding a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSPs) to make the system more transparent.

A platform of protesting farm unions on Tuesday said a Union government official reached out to one of its leaders, requesting the names of five people who could represent farmers on a committee proposed to look into issues related to cultivation and MSPs.