Odisha Govt To Procure Surplus Paddy For Sale: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has taken steps to procure surplus paddy for sale, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said on Monday.

The minister said out of a targeted procurement of 71 lakh metric tonnes of Kharif paddy this year, 46,600 metric tonnes have already been procured.

Swain said as there has been a good harvest of Kharif paddy this year, the Odisha government has decided to procure the surplus paddy to sell outside the state after meeting the procurement target.

He stated that the procurement of Kharif paddy has begun in the last two days in Bargarh, Sambalpur and Kalahandi districts. The procurement process is going on smoothly and the farmers at the mandis (procurement centres) are being provided with tokens in alphabetical order, he added.