NUAPADA: For the first time, 22 women self-help groups (SHGs) have been entrusted with the task of procuring paddy during the kharif season in the district this year. The paddy procurement started on November 18.
A total of 79 paddy procurement centres (PPC) have been set up this season. While Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) will procure paddy from 28,209 farmers across 57 PPCs in the district, the rest 22 PPCs with 5,532 registered farmers will be managed by the women SHGs.
These include three PPCs in Nuapada block, four each in Khariar, Boden and Sinapali besides seven in Komna.
Civil Supplies Officer, Nuapada Krushna Chandra Sethi said before the procurement process started, women members of the SHGs were properly trained about the process such as checking quality of paddy under FAQ norms, data entry and maintaining records.
They were also acquainted with the P-PAS system before being given charge of different PPCs.