Mega Campaign of Paddy Procurement at Support Price to begin in Chhattisgarh from December 1

 The mega campaign of paddy procurement at support price from farmers in Chhattisgarh would begin from December 1. State Government has completed all the preparation for this. 

Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel has directed officials concerned to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the farmers during the procurement process. In the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister on November 28, it was decided that paddy procurement at support price would be done from December 1 to January 31, 2021 and corn procurement should be done from December 1 to May 31, 2021. Paddy would be purchased at 2305 paddy procurement centers in state. This year 257 new paddy procurement centers have been established. 

As a result of State Government’s policies, more than 2 lakh farmers who had left farming have now started farming again, which has led to increase in area under cultivation. Compared to last year, nearly 2 lakh 49 thousand more farmers have registered for selling paddy, i.e. the total number of farmers registered for selling paddy this year is 21 lakh 29 thousand 764 farmers. These farmers had sown paddy on 27 lakh 59 thousand 385 hectare area.
In two years, the area under paddy cultivation has increased from 19.36 lakh hectare to 22.68 lakh hectare and the number of farmers selling paddy has increased from 12 lakh 6 thousand to 18 lakh 38 thousand. In this way, there is an increase of 3 lakh 32 thousand hectares in area and 6.32 lakh increase in the number of farmers selling paddy on support price.
There has been a significant increase in the amount of paddy purchased at the support price in the last two years. In year 2017-18, 56.85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured in Chhattisgarh at support price. During last two years, the total amount of paddy procured has reached 83.94 lakh MT. Considering the number of farmers registered who have registered to sell paddy this year and the area under paddy cultivation, support price has been estimated to be higher than last year. State Government is making every possible arrangements  for the same. State Government is making arrangements for gunny bags to meet the requirement for paddy procurement in the state.
Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel has instructed district administration officials to strictly prevent illegal transport of paddy bordering states. Officials of district administration, police administration and concerned department of all the districts. Mr. Baghel has also directed that farmers carrying paddy from one district to another within the state should not be unduly disturbed.
On Chief Minister's instruction, required number of gunny bags are being arranged for the purchase of paddy. It is expected that 4 lakh 75 thousand gunny bags are required for the procurement of paddy, but Government of India has approved supply of only one lakh 43 thousand gunny bags to Chhattisgarh, out of which only 56 thousand gunny bags have been received. To meet the shortage of gunny bags, state government is purchasing 70 thousand plastic gunny bags.
Chhattisgarh government had purchased 80.38 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from 15.71 lakh farmers in the year 2018-19. A record of 83.94 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was purchased from 18.38 lakh farmers in the year 2019-20. In last two years, percentage of farmers selling paddy has also increased compared to registered farmers in the state. Inyear  2017-18, 76.47 percent of the farmers sold paddy. After Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel took charge, this figure has increased to 92.61 percent in the year 2018-19. In the last marketing year 2019-20, 94.02 percent farmers in the state sold paddy at the support price.