BHUBANESWAR: The state government has extended the last date of registration of farmers for procurement of rabi paddy at minimum support price by a week till March 27, 2024.
The farmers registration that started from March 1, was supposed to end on March 20. The Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department extended the timeline following request from farmers. Like last year, the state government has decided to procure rabi paddy for the kharif marketing season 2023-24 from 17 districts of Balasore, Bargarh, Balangir, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Khurda, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Nabarngpur, Nuapada, Puri, Raygada, Sambalpur and Subarnapur. The rabi paddy procurement will start from May 1 and continue till June 30, 2024.
Online registration for sale of surplus paddy under decentralised procurement system is mandatory. Farmers who had registered for rabi season of KMS 2022-23 will have to renew their registration unless they proposed to modify the irrigated land details by giving a declaration that no changes is proposed. For new registration, farmers are required to submit copies of record of land rights, bank pass book and Aadhaar card. In case of sharecroppers, they have to submit a consent letter from the landlord along with the registration form. Verification of land and bank details will be done at cooperative societies authorised for paddy procurement. The state government has set a target to procure 14 lakh tonne of paddy during the rabi season.