Chhattisgarh procures more than 149 lakh tonnes of paddy, breaks record

Raipur: More than 149 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured from farmers under the support price scheme in the current Kharif season in Chhattisgarh, which is higher than the previous record of 144.92 lakh tonnes in 2023-24, officials said on Tuesday.

The two-and-a-half-month-long paddy procurement drive at minimum support price (MSP), which began on November 14 last year, concluded on January 31, an official from the state public relations department said.

He said, "An all-time high record was created with the purchase of 149.25 LMT of paddy from 25,49,592 farmers." The official said the government has disbursed Rs 31,089 crore to farmers' bank accounts against paddy procurement.

As per data shared by the government, Mahasamund topped the list with the highest purchase of 11.04 LMT (lakh metric tonnes) of paddy, followed by Bemetara with 9.38 LMT and Balodabazar-Bhatapara 8.56 LMT.

So far, 103 LMT of the total procured paddy has been lifted for custom milling, and 4,102 rice millers have been registered for the purpose, the official said.

The BJP-led state government has procured paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal from farmers.

Last month, the state government said the difference amount over the MSP (fixed by the Centre) would be given to farmers as input assistance under the Krishak Unnati Yojna in February.