A first: Karnataka to get paddy directly at mills

The Cabinet sub-committee on minimum support price (MSP) procurement announced Saturday that the state government will purchase at least two lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers at ₹1,750 per quintal.

For the first time, paddy will be procured directly at mills where it will be processed and then sent to the public distribution system, Cooperation Minister Bandeppa Kashempur told reporters. “We used to procure paddy and keep it in godowns. Now, procurement centres have been opened in mills,” he said.

The Centre has permitted the state to procure two lakh metric tonnes of paddy through MSP. “Paddy has been sown on 10 lakh hectares and the production target is 45 lakh metric tonnes,” Kashempur said. The per-quintal market rate for paddy is ₹1,300-1,400, he added.

The Cabinet sub-committee has also decided to ask the Centre for permission to carry out MSP procurement for masoor dal, maize and hesaru while the government will start procurement of soya and uddu, Kashempur said.

Onion crisis

The Cabinet sub-committee has discussed at length the onion price crash. “Onion farmers are in distress after prices plummeted. The price has fallen to as low as ₹400-500 per quintal,” Kashempur said.

“We’ve decided to send two proposals to the chief minister - either procurement onion from farmers or announce an incentive like we did for mango,” Kashempur said, declining to reveal details.