The Chamarajanagar district administration has initiated measures to open procurement centres to purchase paddy from farmers.
A preliminary meeting was held in the town recently and Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi reviewed preparations to procure paddy and other cereals by paying the minimum support price fixed by the government.
The registration of farmers for paddy procurement will commence from November 30 and the government has fixed the MSP at ₹1,888 for grade A paddy and ₹1,868 for ordinary paddy for the year 2020-21.
The registration process will continue till December 30 and flour mills have to create necessary infrastructure to store agricultural produce based on the number of farmers registered with a particular mill. The DC directed the officials to take measures to train staff to ascertain the quality of the crop and grade it accordingly. The procurement centres have to be opened in the respective taluk APMC yards and TAPMC offices in case there was no APMC yard in any taluk.
The guidelines pertaining to paddy procurements have to be complied in full, said Mr. Ravi. He told the staff that not more than 40 quintals of ordinary paddy can be procured from a farmer. Post procurement, the farmers should be paid for the crop within three days and the amount should be credited to their respective accounts, he added.
Calendar of events
The district administration will also publicise the calendar of events related to paddy procurement so as to reach all farmers. Publicity will be through the Raita Samparka Kendras and gram panchayat offices where posters and pamphlets will be on display while other outreach programmes will also be conducted to inform the farmers.
