According to a government official, farmers in Chhattisgarh are expected to sell almost 110 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy during the current Kharif selling season at the minimum support price (MSP).
About 98 lakh MT of paddy were bought from state farmers last year. The drive to purchase paddy will start on November 1—Chhattisgarh's statehood day—and end on January 31 of the following year.
According to him, all preparations are in full swing for the start of the paddy buy. To date, more than 25 lakh farmers have registered, 95,000 of them as fresh registrations, to sell their goods at designated centers.
The official stated that farmers who were registered last year should continue to register this year. This Kharif marketing season is expected to see the purchase of about 110 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, for which 5.50 lakh bundles of jute gunny bags will be needed, he said.
Before the official purchase process begins, a test run of the drive will be held from October 26 to October 28 at all cooperative societies, he noted. To stop the illegal flow of paddy from neighboring states, teams from the revenue, food, cooperative, and forest departments have been established at the district level, the official continued.
The Center increased the minimum support price for paddy by Rs 100 to Rs 2,040 per quintal for the crop year 2022–2023 in June of this year.
