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Paddy procurement by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies till date has jumped to 208.10 lakh million tonne (mt), against 157.41 lakh mt in the same period last year during the Kharif Marketing Season (which began on October 1, 2015), the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said as of now, there was “more than adequate” foodgrain stock under Central pool, adding that as on January 1, 2016, there was 237.88 lakh mt of issuable wheat stock and 126.89 lakh mt of rice, which is 50.79 lakh mt more than stocking norms, and “will help in meeting any contingencies arising due to monsoon deficit or natural calamities in the near future.” The Ministry said FCI was stepping up open market sale of wheat at reasonable rates to check inflation and provide supplies to the private flour mills and trade.
Attributing higher Kharif paddy procurement to joint efforts by FCI and State Government Agencies and close monitoring by the Centre, the Ministry said the maximum paddy was procured by Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
To ensure that FCI had enough funds to pay to the farmers and State agencies, the Centre said it had given an additional ₹ 10,000 crore in January 2016.
The Centre has already released food subsidy of ₹ 87,000 crore to FCI till date in the current financial year and a ways and means advance of ₹ 20,000 crore, taking the total Central funding of ₹ 1,07,000 crore this fiscal, which is an “all time” record, the Ministry added.
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