So far in this Kharif marketing season, the Centre has procured 651,07 lakh tonnes of paddy worth almost 1,23-lakh crore at the minimum support price (MSP) in the midst of farmers' agitation at Delhi's borders against three new farm laws.
There has been a 16 percent rise in procurement, helping 94 lakh farmers.
‘In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21, as was done in previous seasons, the government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops from farmers at MSP as per current MSP schemes,’ the Food Ministry said.
651.07 lakh tonnes (lt) of paddy was procured by the Centre before 19 February, up 15.91 percent from 561.67 lt in the same duration of the previous season.
Approximately 93.93 lakh farmers have already gained from the ongoing MSP value of ₹1,22,922.58 crore KMS procurement operations, the Ministry said.
Punjab alone added 202.82 lt to the overall acquisition of 651.07 lt, which is 31.15 percent of the total procurement.