Over 1 Crore Farmers Benefit From Ongoing Paddy Procurement, MSP Outflow Of Rs 1.47 Lakh Crore Transferred: Govt

The government on Friday (5 March) said that more than 1 crore farmers have benefitted from the ongoing paddy procurement.

Further, around 713 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy has been procured in the Kharif Marketing Season 2022-23 till 1 March, with a Minimum Support Price (MSP) outflow of nearly Rs 1.47 lakh crore, according to the government.

"Over 1 crore farmers have been benefitted with the paddy procurement for KMS 2022-23 (Kharif crop). Around 713 LMT of paddy up to 01.03.2023 procured and the MSP (minimum support price) outflow of Rs 1,46,960 crores has been transferred directly into farmers’ account," the Ministry of Food and Public distribution said in a release on Friday.

The procurement operations have been arranged efficiently, and rice delivery against the procured paddy is currently underway, according to the ministry.

The Central Pool has received around 246 LMT of rice against the 713 LMT paddy procurement, and there is an adequate stock of rice available to meet the country's requirements, it said.

"For Kharif crop of current KMS 2022-23, a quantity of about 766 LMT Paddy (514 LMT in terms of Rice) has been estimated to be procured. For Rabi crop of current KMS 2022-23, a quantity of about 158 LMT Paddy (106 LMT in terms of Rice) has been estimated to be procured," the ministry said.

"With the inclusion of Rabi crop, it is expected that around 900 LMT paddy may be procured during the entire KMS 2022-23," it added.