10 paddy procurement centres to come up in KA

HT Bureau

DIPHU, Dec 29: The Union government has announced the Minimum Support Price for paddy at Rs 2,040 per quintal for the year 2022-23. The government of Assam has also taken special measures to purchase paddy from farmers at reasonable prices this year.

The government has set a procurement target of 73,000 MT paddy in Karbi Anglong district this year (from 10 Paddy Procurement Centres) of which 20,000 MT will go to Food Corporation of India; 30,000 MT is for Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (AFCSCL) and 19,000 MT is for National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation Of India Limited (NAFED) and 4,000 to National Cooperative Consumers Federation Limited (NCCF).

In Karbi Anglong district, there are 10 paddy procurement centres proposed to be set up in various places including Bakalia, Howraghat, Dokmoka, Ganeshpur, Rajpathar, Kachamari, Reng Reng Jharoni and Rongkut, some of which are already operating in full swing. The two more centers are proposed to be set up in Dhansiri and Barpather which are at the project level now.

The opening of proposed two new PPCs will increase the number of PPCs to 12 in Karbi Anglong district as well as the target will be more than 73,000 MT. It is learnt that the target of Dhanshri PPC is 500 MT (agency AFCSCL) and Barpathar PPC is also 500 MT.

The district agriculture officer of Karbi Anglong said it is a great opportunity for the farmers. The MSP in paddy was Rs 1,940 per quintal in 2021-22. The increased MSP this year will definitely help the farmers to improve their economic condition.

For selling paddy in PPC, farmers have to register their names and then get the signature of the Gaon Pradhan on the registration form. Farmer Certificates can be collected from the agriculture development officer. To go through the process there are several things that farmers have to pay attention to while selling paddy – the paddy should be clean, dry, ripe, bright, uniform in colour and size, defect-free, insect-free, odourless, soil and sand free and moisture content must be upto 17 per cent.

The district agriculture officer Bidu Kr Raijung urged the farmers of Karbi Anglong to take the maximum benefit from the government and get rid of middlemen. He also urged the farmers to contact their local agriculture extension assistants, agriculture development officers or district agriculture office for any difficulties they face in selling paddy. It is also worth mentioning that the farmers’ responses and involvements are great in the PPCs like Howraghat and Bakalia.