Cabinet sub-committee meeting held for paddy procurement arrangements
Instructions to officials to ensure all necessary arrangements including gunny bags for paddy procurement
Emphasis on strengthening cooperatives
Raipur, 18 July 2023, According to the announcement of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, paddy will be procured from registered farmers in Chhattisgarh at the rate of 20 quintals per acre in the upcoming Kharif marketing year 2023-2024. A meeting of the cabinet sub-committee constituted to review and suggest the policy of paddy procurement and custom milling was held in the assembly hall today under the chairmanship of Food Minister Mr. Amarjeet. It is noteworthy that the state government has set an estimated target of purchasing 125 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from the registered farmers of the state in the upcoming Kharif marketing year 2023-24.
In the meeting of the cabinet sub-committee, discussion was held in detail regarding determination of policy related to paddy and maize procurement, farmer registration, gunny bags and financial arrangements on support price in the upcoming Kharif marketing year 2023-24. Among the members of the cabinet sub-committee, Agriculture Production Minister Mr. Tamradhwaj Sahu and Forest Minister Mr. Mohammad Akbar attended the meeting. Cooperative Minister Shri Ravindra Choubey also joined the meeting through video conferencing.
In the cabinet sub-committee meeting, the ministers said that paddy procurement is being conducted smoothly in the state through cooperative societies. Like previous years, paddy is to be procured from the farmers of the state in large quantities this year. That’s why emphasis was laid on strengthening the cooperatives.
It is worth mentioning that due to the farmer friendly policies and decisions of the state government on the initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, there has been a steady increase in the number and area of farmers in the last four years. Agricultural production has also increased rapidly. Due to procurement of paddy as well as lifting of paddy, the execution of paddy has been completed easily. This year also, necessary preparations are being made to provide convenience to the farmers and to provide necessary facilities for the sale of paddy.
In the meeting, officials informed during the discussion that the area covered under paddy in this Kharif season in the state is estimated at 33.61 lakh hectare. According to the announcement by Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel in the marketing year 2023-24, 20 quintals of paddy per acre will be purchased from the farmers. All necessary preparations are being made to strengthen the paddy procurement system in the cooperative societies for the estimated paddy procurement. In this, maintenance work is being done from registration of farmers to arrangement of gunny bags, necessary facilities for farmers in procurement centres, arrangement for payment etc.
In the cabinet sub-committee meeting, Secretary, Food Department, Mr. Topeshwar Verma, Commissioner, Agriculture Production, Dr. Kamalpreet Singh, Secretary, Cooperative Department, Mr. Himshikhar Gupta, Nodal Officer, Godhan Nyay Yojana, Dr. Ayyaz Bhai Tamboli, Chief Executive Officer, CHIPS, Mr. Ritesh Agarwal, Special Secretary, Food Department, Mr. M. Soni, Director, Food and Civil Supplies Corporation, Mr. Jitendra Shukla, Director, Agriculture Department, Mrs. Ranu Sahu, Managing Director, Apex Bank, Mr. K.K. N. Kande along with senior officers of the concerned department were present.
