NEW DELHI: Over 1 crore farmers have been benefitted with the paddy procurement for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2022-23. Till March 1, around 713 LMT of paddy was procured and the minimum support price (MSP) outflow of Rs.1,46,960 crore has been transferred directly into farmers’ accounts.
Against this paddy procurement, around 246 LMT rice has been received in the Central Pool. Adequate rice stock is currently available in the Central Pool for meeting the requirements of the country.
For Kharif crop of 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.
With the inclusion of Rabi crop, it is expected that around 900 LMT paddy may be procured during the entire KMS 2022-23.
Wheat crop normal
Meanwhile, a Government monitoring committee has found the situation of wheat crop normal in all major states. A meeting of the committee constituted by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) was held recently at ICARIndian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal.
Experts from IMD, ICAR, State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), major wheat growing states and the senior state Government officials attended the meeting along with the officials from DA&FW.
The condition of wheat crop was presented and discussed in detail by the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which account for more than 85 per cent of wheat acreage. The Committee assessed that as on date the wheat crop condition is normal in all major wheat growing states.