Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has urged the union consumer affairs, food and publiic distributions minister Piyush Goyal to evacuate surplus rice from the State.
In a letter to Goyal on Monday, the CM has expressed his concern that non-evacution of rice would severely affect the paddy procurements in the State.
Stating that Odisha became a Decentralized Procurement (DCP) State from the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2003-04, the CM has mentioned that since then the State has been undertaking MSP operations for procurement of paddy in decentralized mode. The Decentralized Procurement has improved the outreach of MSP support to paddy growers. During this Kharif season a record 14,94,320 number of farmers have sold paddy to the Government at MSP.
The rice milled from the paddy so procured is being used under the National Food Security Act and Other Welfare Schemes of the Government and the surplus rice is being delivered to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
It is to mention that, paddy procurement for Kharif season (KMS 2022-23) is going to be closed by 31.03.2023, About 65.23 LMT of paddy equivalent to 44.23 LMT Kharif CMR has been procured as on 22.03.2023 and MSP dues of about Rs.13,081 crore have been transferred to the bank account of the farmers within 24 to 48 hours of purchase of paddy, In the ensuing Rabi (KMS 2022-23), it is expected that about 10 lakh MT of CMR will be procured in the State, Thus, total 54 lakh MT CMR is likely to be procured during KMS 2022-23. Odisha’s own consumption will be 24 lakh MT of rice under NFSA, SFSS and Other Welfare Schemes. The Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India has issued a target of 10.33 LMT (4 LMT in 1 st phase & 6.33 in 2nd phase) of fortified parboiled rice for acceptance by FCI during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif) for the State of Odisha. So, the State will be left with approximately 20 lakh MT of surplus rice.
Non-evacuation of above quantity of surplus rice from the State will severely affect the State’s paddy procurement operations in the coming seasons as well as it will adversely impact the livelihood of lakhs of farmers of the State whose main source of earning is through MSP operations of paddy procurement.
In view of above, I would reque your kind personal intervention for issuing a direction to accept additional 20 lakh MT of surplus rice (17 lakh MT fortified parboiled rice and 03 lakh MT fortified raw rice) for the KMS 2022-23 or the interest of farmers.
With kind regards.
