Madhya Pradesh has procured over 3.3 mln tn of key kharif crops--jowar, bajra, and paddy--harvested so far in 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) under the price support scheme, a state farm department official said today.
"Around a fortnight ago, procurement was 1.4 mln tn. Around 548,430 farmers have benefited from the procurement drive," the official said. Paddy purchase was 3.1 mln tn, bajra buying was 195,336 tn and 29,582 tn procurement was jowar.
Among the key crops that the state has procured, paddy's share was the highest, which was bought at the minimum support price from 506,413 farmers. Bajra was bought from over 35,926 farmers, and jowar from 6,491 farmers. The procurement drive is likely to gather pace in the coming days as farmers want to sell their existing stocks to create space for rabi crops, the official said. Harvesting of rabi crop will begin from February.
Madhya Pradesh, one of the leading growers of paddy, aims to procure 4 mln tn of the crop during the 2020-21 (Oct-Sep) marketing year, up around 54% on year. On hope of this larger crop, the state has raised its paddy procurement target for the 2020-21 marketing season. The Centre has raised the minimum support price of the common variety paddy for 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) to 1,868 rupees per 100 kg from 1,815 rupees, and that of the Grade A paddy to 1,888 rupees from 1,835 rupees.
The state is also among the major growers of coarse cereals. For jowar, the Centre has fixed the minimum support price for the hybrid variety of the crop at 2,620 rupees per 100 kg, as against 2,550 rupees last year, and that of the maldandi variety at 2,640 rupees per 100 kg from 2,570 rupees. The Centre has also raised the minimum support price of bajra harvested in 2020-21 to 2,150 rupees per 100 kg from 2,000 rupees.
