Amid protests in Punjab by farmers over “tardy” paddy procurement and lifting, Union Minister of Meals and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi Sunday assured Punjab farmers that the Centre will procure each grain from them.
Joshi stated, “We strongly stand with farmers of Punjab… No matter commitments we’ve got made, we’ll fulfil the identical by November-end. Predominant fir se ek baar aashwast karta hun ki ham ek ek dana, ham apse khareedenge. (I wish to guarantee you once more, we’ll procure each grain from you).”
Paddy procurement in Punjab started on October 1 this 12 months on account of heavy rainfall in September, Joshi stated, including that regardless of the late begin, it’s on monitor to attain the goal to obtain 185 lakh metric tonnes by November 2024. Nonetheless, on decrease Out Flip Ratio (OTR) from paddy to rice, he stated, “There has additionally been a requirement from the millers to scale back present 67% OTR, citing that the paddy selection PR-126 has been giving 4% to five% lesser OTR than regular. The PR-126 selection has been in Punjab since 2016, no such problem has been reported beforehand.”
As on October 26, 2024, round 50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured towards the arrival of 54.5 lakh metric tonnes, Joshi stated, including that till the identical day final 12 months, 61.5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured towards the arrival of 65.8 lakh metric tonnes.
Dismissing stories of delay in procurement on account of non-availability of cupboard space, he stated storage capability of 16 lakh metric tonnes can be accessible as on November 1, 2024.
