BHUBANESWAR: Farmers willing to sell their surplus paddy under minimum support price have to register afresh under the paddy procurement automation system (P-PAS) for the 2023 Kharif marketing seasons starting from July 15.
In a circular issued to all district collectors on Saturday, the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department said renewal of farmers registered during the last Kharif will not be allowed. “It has been decided that all farmers willing to sell their paddy have to be registered afresh i.e. no renewal is allowed and farmers have to provide all details personal/land/bank related information again,” said the order issued by FS&CW principal secretary VV Yadav.
Although actual procurement of paddy will start from November 1, 2023, farmers’ registration will start from July 17 and be completed by August 16. Farmers who are willing to sell their surplus paddy to the government at MSP during the ensuing kharif procurement season are required to register with their nearest societies.
Registration will be done by authorised primary agriculture cooperative societies, large area multi-purpose cooperative societies, women self-help groups and pani panchayats in the respective jurisdictional areas of the farmers.
Noting that farmers' registration is mandatory, the order said each society should be ready with a list of farmers along with their marketable surplus before the commencement of procurement operations.
Surplus is calculated at the acreage of land the farmer has cultivated for the crop season multiplied by the yield rate for the specified nature of the land (irrigated/non-irrigated). The yield rate of paddy is fixed every year for the kharif/rabi season with the approval of the state government.
Farmers will have to submit the filled-in forms along with copies of records of right (RoR), the first page of the bank passbook and a copy of the Aadhaar card at the society office during registration. Providing a mobile phone number is mandatory. Registration forms with invalid Aadhaar numbers will not be considered for inclusion in the list of eligible Farmers, the order said. Early registration of farmers will help the state government in making advance planning to manage procurement operations for paddy for each crop season, it added.