Tripura government to procure 18,000 MT paddy from farmers at MSP

The Tripura government will procure 18,000 metric tons (MT) of paddy during the upcoming procurement cycle beginning January 28, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference at the Civil Secretariat, Chowdhury said, “The procurement drive would commence from the North Tripura district headquarters at Dharmanagar and would be carried out jointly by the food and agriculture departments. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manik Saha.”

The minister said the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy has been enhanced to Rs 23.69 from Rs 23. He said that cumulatively, the state has procured 2,44,303.795 MT of paddy so far, benefiting 1,25,454 farmers. An amount of Rs 489.71 crore has been disbursed to farmers against procurement, which, he said, has circulated in the rural economy.

Chowdhury said the Centre had instructed states to undertake paddy procurement at MSP, adding that funds were to be reimbursed subsequently. He claimed that the previous state government did not carry out procurement despite such directions. He also said the state has introduced a new policy framework to streamline paddy procurement.

Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath, who was also present at the press conference, said the decision was aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes. “The average monthly income of farmers in the state has risen from Rs 6,580 in 2015–16 to Rs 13,590 at present. Overall agricultural production in the state has also increased,” he added.

According to Nath, Tripura’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) stood at Rs 43,716 crore in 2017–18 and increased to Rs 89,687 crore last year, while the current GSDP is Rs 98,279 crore. He said the state has set a target of achieving a GSDP of Rs 1,64,000 crore by 2030 years and Rs 10,038,000 crore by 2047.

Nath said total paddy production in the state was 7,70,000 MT in 2017–18 and has increased to 8,30,000 MT at present.