MALKANGIRI: Kharif paddy procurement in Malkangiri district will start from December 16 and continue till March 31.
The decision was taken at the district-level paddy procurement meeting held under the chairmanship of collector Ashish Iswar Patil here on Friday. Sources said the minimum support price (MSP) for grade A paddy has been fixed at Rs 2,320 per quintal while it is Rs 2,300 for common variety along with an input assistance of Rs 800 per quintal.
After procurement, the payment will be credited to the farmers’ accounts online by Bhubaneswar-based Odisha State Cooperative Bank within 24 to 72 hours.
The district administration has decided to procure 9,23,000 quintal of paddy in the first phase for which 37,498 farmers have registered. At least 28 millers will participate in the procurement process. Around 13 primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS) will participate in the procurement process for which sub-collector, BDOs and tehsildars will act as nodal officers.
Malkangiri MLA Narasingh Madkami, zilla parishad president Samari Tangulu, Chitrakonda MLA’s representative Govind Patra, sub-collector Duryodhana Bhoi, district civil supplies officer Manmohan Pattnaik, zilla parishad chief development officer Naresh Chandra Sabar and ADM (revenue) Bedabar Pradhan were present in the meeting.