Uttar Pradesh: Paddy procurement to begin on October 1 with a 48-hour payment process

Representation Image

The Uttar Pradesh government will start the paddy procurement across the state from October 1 and the payments to farmers will be processed with 48 hours of the sale, PTI reported.

According to PTI, the process is to be rolled out in phases, starting from western UP till the eastern districts later in the month, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

The procurement will start in Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur districts of Uttar Pradesh on October 1, to be followed by Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Unnao from November 1. among others, the statement added.

"Paddy procurement will continue until January 31, covering various districts including Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Agra, Aligarh and Jhansi," it stated.

The minimum support price (MSP) for paddy is set at Rs 2,300 per quintal, while the price for grade a paddy stood at Rs 2,320 per quintal, PTI reported.

It further stated that farmers will be compensated Rs 20 per quintal for unloading, sifting, and cleaning their produce.

As per PTI, the Food and Civil Supplies Department has established around 4,000 purchasing centres throughout the entire state, to facilitate this extensive procurement process.

According to the statement, Uttar Pradesh's CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered that payments to farmers be handled within 48 hours after the sale, guaranteeing prompt financial help.

"The Yogi government has directed that payments to farmers be processed within 48 hours," it added.

On September 1st, the paddy purchase plan opened for registration. Within the first month, about 32,000 farmers had registered.

According to the Department for Agriculture, 61.24 lakh hectares will be used for paddy cultivation in the Kharif marketing year 2024-2025.

Production of 265.54 lakh metric tonnes and an average yield of 43.36 quintals per hectare are projected.

(With inputs from PTI)