Lucknow
Poll-bound Uttar Pradesh (UP) has reported paddy procurement of more than 3.8 million tonnes (MT) in the current Kharif marketing season 2021-22.
Compared to the figure of 1.1 MT around Nov 28, the current procurement tally is 345 per cent higher, indicating a gradual build-up of momentum as the UP polls get nearer.
According to the state government, 5,48,000 farmers have so far benefited under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement programme even as 1.27 million farmers have registered online for the purpose.
About 4,600 procurement centres, including Food Corporation of India (FCI)-run centres, have been set up across UP for direct paddy purchase from farmers.
This year, the MSP for Grade A and common variety of paddy is Rs 1,960 per quintal and Rs 1,940 per quintal respectively, UP food and civil supplies commissioner Saurabh Babu informed.
In the high-stakes UP assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pulling all stops to keep the different sections of voters in good humour, especially farmers.
In the backdrop of the recent stir over the now-annulled central farm laws, the BJP government is going the extra mile to deflect the opposition narrative of tarring the Yogi Adityanath dispensation as anti-poor and anti-farmers.
As such, the state has issued instructions to officials for ensuring seamless procurement and speedy payment of MSP to the concerned farmers.
Earlier, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials for strict monitoring and spot inspections to keep middlemen at bay and mitigate field bottlenecks in paddy procurement.