ROURKELA: Paddy procurement in Sundargarh district has been officially closed for the kharif marketing season almost one month in advance with purchase of 24.35 lakh quintal, around 4.92 lakh quintal more than that procured last year.
As per sources, the initial target of 19.43 lakh quintal was achieved by mid-February and the extra quantity of 4.92 lakh quintal was purchased on special consideration in the second phase procurement target. Reliable sources said paddy procurement reportedly stopped from March 4 with closure of all 133 paddy procurement centres (PPCs) as farmers were understood to have exhausted the bulk stock for sale.
Deputy registrar of cooperative societies (DRCS), Sundargarh, US Das said after procuring 24.35 lakh quintal paddy, all the PPCs stopped seeing arrival of farmers for sale of their stocks and after waiting for a few days, the centres were eventually closed.
“The district achieved its initial procurement target of 19.43 lakh quintal by mid-February and got approval for additional target of 6.23 lakh quintal. In the next 15 days, around 4.92 lakh quintal were purchased. The remaining target of 1.31 lakh quintal could not be procured as farmers are believed to have exhausted all their stock,” he said.
As per official sources, around 19.43 lakh quintal paddy were procured in 2024 as against the target of 20.87 lakh quintal. Based on the actual procurement of 2024, the target for 2025 was fixed at 19.43 lakh quintal.
Though paddy procurement in the district kicked off on December 15 last year, there was negligible purchase for the next 15 days. After a slow start, the procurement activity picked up pace and by mid-February, the first target was achieved. In the meantime, the district administration requested the state government to allow procurement of additional 7 lakh quintal in the second phase procurement, but the government gave approval for 6.23 lakh quintal.
Sundargarh civil supplies officer DC Beshra said the procurement in 2025 was hassles-free with different wings of the administration working in coordination with one another. “Almost all registered farmers were covered and there was no extension of token dates as farmers arrived at the PCCs on fixed dates and the procurement process was smooth,” he said.
Notably, about 54,400 farmers had registered themselves and 23 rice mills were authorised for the procurement.