BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to promote ragi cultivation in a sustainable manner through assured market support, the Odisha government has prepared an action plan and a set of guidelines. The target has been set to procure six lakh quintal ragi from 142 blocks under Millet Mission in 19 districts during the kharif season of 2022-23. Ragi (kharif crop) will be procured from January 1 to March 31. Ragi will be procured through Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation of Odisha Ltd (TDCCOL) with the support of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS), Large Area Multi-purpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPCS), farmer producer organisations and SHG federations.
Like paddy, farmers willing to sell ragi will have to register for selling their produce by submitting their ID proof, personal land and bank account details as per the registration forms available in TDCCOL portal. Registration of farmers will be done at respective PACS, LAMPCS, FPOs and SHG federations.
Farmers can also register their names for selling ragi which has been grown on land given under Forest Rights Act. In case, a ragi farmer or sharecropper is unable to produce the record of rights for some or any other reason, they will be registered as a ragi grower for procurement based on the certificate provided by the village agriculture worker, sarpanch or agriculture officer.
Ragi will be procured from farmers at the rate of 10 quintals per hectare (four quintals per acre). It can be revised on the basis of the assessment of crop yield by the chief district agriculture officers. The Centre has announced the MSP of ragi at `3,578 per quintal conforming to FAQ norms. The last date for online registration of farmers is December 31.
Though ragi procurement centres will be set up within five km of production clusters, there will be no mandi beyond 20 km. Payment for ragi procured will be made through direct transfer to the bank accounts of farmers within three days of procurement. Payment to farmers who have sold more than 20 quintals will be released after detailed field verification by officials.
Millet on target