Agartala: Tripura Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Thursday said that the Tripura government would procure 18,000 metric tonnes of paddy directly from farmers this season.
The paddy procurement drive will begin on January 28 from Dharmanagar, the headquarters of North Tripura district, the minister said.
“The entire exercise will be conducted jointly by the food and agriculture departments. Chief Minister Manik Saha has approved the proposal in a recent meeting,” the minister added.
The minister said the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy has been increased to Rs 23.69 from Rs 23. He said the state has cumulatively 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 paddy procurement, which he said has contributed to the rural economy.
Chowdhury said the Centre had instructed states to procure paddy at MSP, with funds to be reimbursed later. He alleged that the previous state government did not carry out procurement despite such directions. He said a new policy framework has been introduced to streamline the paddy procurement process in the state.
Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath, who was also present at the press conference, said the initiative was part of efforts to raise farmers’ incomes. He said the average monthly income of farmers in Tripura has increased from Rs 6,580 in 2015–16 to Rs 13,590 at present.