In line with recent decision of Council of Minister of Tripura Government, paddy procurement drives at Minimum Support Price (MSP) have started in the State on Tuesday.
In this session, the state government has set its target to procure 20,000 MT paddy directly from farmers at Rs. 18.68 per kg. In the last year, around 60,000 MT paddy were procured at MSP, Food Minister Manoj Kanti Deb said and added, the procurement drive on Monday was held in 19 centres at Dhanya Manikya Mukta Manch in Matabari under Gomati District and Sonamura in Sepahijala District.
Reacting on the procurement at MSP drive, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb in a social media post said, earlier no such facility was available for purchasing paddy directly from the farmers MSP. The BJP-IPFT government had initiated the drive.
Deb wrote, “For this paddy procurement drive, the state government will spend Rs. 37.36 crore along with miscellaneous expenditure of more Rs. 6.87 crore.
The Chief Minister has appealed the farmers from across the state to sell paddy at nearby Agri Division or SDM office and avail the facility of Minimum Support Price.
Meanwhile, Agriculture minister Pranajit Singha Roy along with MLA Biplab Kumar Ghosh and other dignitaries took part in an inaugural session of the procure drive held at Matabari centre. Speaking on the occasion, Roy said, BJP-IPFT Government is working hard to double the earnings of farmers.
Chairman of Monitoring Committee of Sonamura Food department and MLA Subhas Chandra Das told the media that target had been set to procure 300 MT paddy from Sadar Sonamura sub-division. In successive phases, paddy procurement drive in other areas under Sonamura sub-division like Kanthalia, Boxanagar, Bairagi Bazar etc will be held.
In traditional method, wholesale buyers pick up paddy from the house of farmers at a rate of Rs 15 per kg only – however, the State Government is procuring at Rs 18.68. With the initiative of the Government, farmers are earning, at least Rs 3.68 per kg more compared to traditional selling to wholesale buyers.
