The annual paddy procurement operations in Punjab and Haryana, known as the “food bowls of India,” are in full swing for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25, with the Union Government reaffirming its commitment to meet the procurement targets. Despite initial delays due to heavy September rainfall and higher moisture content in harvested paddy, both states are on track to meet their procurement estimates of 185 lakh tonnes (LT) for Punjab and 60 LT for Haryana by the stipulated deadlines—November 30 for Punjab and November 15 for Haryana.
As of October 29, 2024, Punjab has procured 67 LT of paddy, representing 80% of the 84 LT procured by the same date last year. Meanwhile, Haryana has procured 45 LT of paddy, about 87% of the 52 LT procured last year, the Union government claimed in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Despite the delays, the procurement process is progressing steadily, with both states expected to achieve their targets within the next few weeks. Every day, approximately 4 LT of paddy is being lifted from Punjab’s mandis, while Haryana sees an average daily lifting of 1.5 LT, ensuring the remaining quantities will be smoothly procured.
In terms of farmer participation, 10 lakh farmers in Punjab and 4.06 lakh farmers in Haryana have registered to sell their produce during KMS 2024-25. The government’s digitized procurement system ensures timely payments, with Rs 13,211 crore already disbursed to 3.5 lakh farmers in Punjab and Rs 10,529 crore to 2.75 lakh farmers in Haryana. Payments are being credited directly to farmers’ bank accounts via the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system within 48 hours of procurement, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Rice millers also play a crucial role in the procurement process, and the respective state governments have onboarded them to ensure smooth operations. In Punjab, 3,850 millers out of 4,400 applicants have been assigned work for Custom Milled Rice (CMR) delivery, while in Haryana, 1,319 millers out of 1,452 applicants are actively involved. To address millers’ concerns efficiently, the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution launched the FCI Grievance Redressal System (FCI GRS) app on October 28, 2024, ensuring a streamlined and transparent grievance-handling process for rice millers.
The Union Government remains committed to providing farmers with the benefits of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime, which has steadily increased over the years. The MSP for paddy has risen from Rs 1,310 per quintal in 2013-14 to Rs 2,300 per quintal in 2023-24. Since 2018-19, MSP has been guaranteed at least 50% above the all-India weighted average cost of production, ensuring fair returns for farmers.
The procurement operations are further backed by significant budgetary allocations. Food subsidy spending has increased more than fourfold in the last decade, rising from Rs 5.15 lakh crore (2004-05 to 2013-14) to Rs 21.56 lakh crore between 2014-15 and 2023-24. During the COVID-19 pandemic, food subsidy allocations were significantly increased to provide 5 kg of additional food grains to each beneficiary under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) free of cost—a program that continued until December 2022. From January 2023, the Central Issue Price (CIP) for food grains has been set to zero, ensuring that Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Household (PHH) beneficiaries continue to receive food grains at no cost.
With procurement targets clearly in sight, the Union Government has assured that no grain will be left unprocured, ensuring that the benefits of the MSP regime are fully realized by farmers in Punjab and Haryana.
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Haryana’s paddy procurement may cross last year’s figures
Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shyam Singh Rana clarified that the statement made by the Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala regarding discrepancies in registrations on the ‘My Crop My Details’ portal is misleading. For the Kharif Marketing Season 2024-25, 414,239 farmers have registered, which is an increase from last year’s 360,282. This year, the area under cultivation has also increased to 2,877,562 acres, compared to 2,730,745 acres last year. He expressed hope that the state’s rice production this year could surpass last year’s figure of 58-59 lakh MT of procured last uear.