The Chhattisgarh government has procured over 10 million tonnes (mt) of paddy at minimum support price (MSP) for the first time.

The state crossed 10 mt mark on Tuesday, a fortnight before the deadline for the paddy procurement (as on January 18) concludes.

The paddy procurement started on November 1 and will continue till January 31. The Bhupesh Baghel government had set a target to purchase 11 mt of paddy from the farmers at MSP in the current kharif marketing season.

The volume of paddy procured in Chhattisgarh has surged to 9.8 mt in the kharif marketing year 2021-22 from about 5.68 MT in 2017-2018. 

According to officials, the state will probably surpass the target of 11 mt procurement, given the trend of paddy arrival at the centres.

Chhattisgarh’s Food Minister Amarjeet Bhagat said the record paddy purchase had become a symbol of the prosperity of agriculture and farmers in the state. <