Assam: Agencies likely to miss paddy procurement for first crop target

Will the four agencies that procure paddy in Assam meet the target set for them for the current kharif marketing season (KMS) or miss it? Such a question arises as the four agencies have procured an average of 41.25 percent of the target set for them, even though barely 18 days are left of the first crop procurement season. 

The paddy procurement for the first crop season started on December 1, 2023, and will conclude on June 30, 2024. The paddy procurement target set for these four agencies for the KMS 2023–24 is 653700 metric tonnes (MT). However, till today, the four agencies together procured 269709.26 MT, the breakup being: 231551.03 MT (49.4 percent) against the target of 468700 MT by AFCSCL (Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd), 3219.3 MT (64.3 percent) against the target of 5,000 MT by ASAMB (Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board), only 10020.28 MT (13.1 percent) against the target of 76,000 MT by FCI, and 24918.65 MT (23.9 percent) against the target of 104000 MT by NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd)

The statistics given above make it crystal clear that the two paddy procuring agencies in Assam, AFCSCL and ASAMB, have procured more paddy than their two national counterparts, FCI and NAFED.

According to sources in the Agriculture Department, the state has a total of 67,968 certified farmers who have registered to sell paddy. However, only 29,608 of the registered certified farmers have sold their paddy during this season.

The state has 170 paddy procurement centres (PCCs). The MSP (minimum support price) for paddy fixed for the KMS 2023–24 is Rs 2,183 per quintal, compared to Rs 2,040 per quintal in the KMS 2022–23.

According to an official of one of the four paddy procuring agencies, the poor procurement of paddy in this season is due to the late issuance of the notification for paddy procurement. This led to the start of paddy procurement in mid-January this year instead of December 1, 2023.

This article has been republished from The Sentinel Assam.