Odisha To Procure 30 Lakh MT Rice This Kharif Marketing Season

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha cabinet on Thursday approved the Food and Procurement Policy for Kharif Marketing Season 2016-17 with a target of procuring 30 lakh metric ton of rice from the farmers.

“The state government has set a tentative target of collecting 30 lakh metric ton rice ( in terms of paddy, it would be 44 lakh metric ton) during the entire year covering Kharif and Rabi procurement,” said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) Minister Sanjay Das Burma.

He said the cabinet has authorized the department to revise the target if the need so arises.

While Kharif paddy will be procured during the period from November 2016 to March 2017, Rabi paddy will be procured during May and June 2017, said the minister.

He informed that paddy would be procured from the farmers who are registered in the online portal of FS&CW department.

The state government would procure paddy from farmers as per the Minimum Support Price (MSP) declared by the Centre.

While Rs 1470 would be provided per quintal for common paddy, Rs 1510 per quintal would be provided for grade-A variety, said the minister.