BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has fixed a target to procure 44.28 lakh tonne rice from Odisha during the forthcoming kharif marketing season 2023-24 for the central pool as against 53.83 lakh tonne procured from the state in the last kharif season.
Odisha is the fourth largest paddy-producing state in the country after Punjab, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh. The state’s contribution to the central rice pool in the 2022-23 kharif marketing season (KMS) was 9.5 per cent and it has been reduced to 8.5 per cent.
State-wise procurement target was fixed after consultation with state food secretaries at a meeting chaired by union secretary of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) and senior officials of Food Corporation of India (FCI) in New Delhi on August 21, 2023.
“The state-wise rice procurement target is fixed tentatively taking into account area covered under paddy crops, area shown under high yield, hybrid and local varieties and average yield per hectare. The surplus paddy for sale under minimum support price is arrived at after deducting the amount of rice to be consumed in the state,” sources in the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department said.
As paddy crops in several coastal districts affected by recent floods remain inundated and transplantion is on in many districts, a clear picture of total areas covered under the crop is yet to emerge. The Centre may revise the target after getting actual paddy production reports from all states, sources added.
It has been estimated that FCI will procure 521.27 lakh tonne rice in the ensuing KMS against the previous year’s estimate of 518 lakh tonne of which 496 lakh tonne was actually procured during KMS 2022-23 (kharif crop). The target has been increased despite erratic monsoons across the country.
The state which has been procuring paddy through its agencies under a decentralised procurement system from 2013-14 had purchased surplus paddy of over 79 lakh tonne in 2022-23 against its target of 71 lakh tonne. Normally, the state government announces its food and procurement policy in the month September, a month before the actual procurement starts from November 1.
Rice target
44.28 lakh tonne rice to be procured from Odisha
State’s contribution to central rice pool has been reduced to 8.5 pc
FCI to procure 521.27 lakh tonne rice in ensuing KMS