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Punjab food dept seeks paddy yield of districts to start new payment system
The new payment system is being implemented for the first, with the Punjab food department the overall incharge
Chandigarh The Punjab food and civil supplies department has asked the state’s agriculture department to provide district-wise estimated paddy yield for the last procurement season. This will help the state meet norms that call for integrating land records with the food grain procurement, which is scheduled to start from October 1. The system is being implemented for the first time in state.
The Centre has mandated Punjab and other paddy growing states to link procurement to farmers’ land and to the yield to check bogus billing and the malpractice of adding previous seasons’ produce to the current procurement. On getting the average figures, per acre purchase by state purchase agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be frozen at a particular limit.
The state’s paddy yield varies between 27 quintal per acre to 35 quintal per acre. “We have the yield figures and will share these with the department. There is not much variation in yield from season-to-season, just 2-3%,” said director agriculture SS Sidhu.
The district-wise yield figures will be linked to the procurement portal. Farmers bringing more than average produce will not be accepted. “We have to deal with the issue cautiously, so that we are within the procurement norms and also ensure that farmers do not suffer,” said a food department officer.
State remote sensing centre figures show that paddy, including premium variety basmati, is sown over 72.5 lakh acre. Of this, basmati is sown over 12 lakh acre.
For procurement in the upcoming season, the agriculture department has pegged total paddy arrival to 191 lakh tonne for which a Cash Credit Limit (CCL) of ₹42,000 crore has been sought from the Reserve Bank of India. The agriculture department has started crop-cutting experiments and the results will coincide with start of procurement next month.
As the Centre is pushing for mandatory land record integration with food grain procurement the state government has started a process for its 10.5 lakh farmers. The food department has started arranging camps in mandis along with the arhtiyas to compile data of around 40% of the farmers, who are not clearly covered under any category as yet.
The Centre has made it compulsory for Punjab to carry out procurement after taking land details from farmers, who will get their payment (MSP) for their produce (wheat and paddy), only when the revenue record of their agriculture land is linked to the Public Finance Management System (PFMS).
In rabi (wheat) procurement season this year, the state had implemented the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, through PFMS, by transferring crop payment directly into farmers’ bank account, bypassing the traditional system of routing payment through the arhtiyas (commission agents).
