Despite the government’s effort to boost grain purchase, only 17.3% of the country’s paddy farmers have benefited from procurement operations in the three years through 2023-24, a report by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has said.
While in Punjab (94%), Telangana (76%) and Chhattisgarh (58.8%) farmers benefited from minimum support price (MSP) purchase operations by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies while in Odisha (33.7%), West Bengal (15.6%), Uttar Pradesh (5.8%) and Bihar (4.1%) coverage of farmers was low during three years ending with 2023-24,” the CACP’ price policy for kharif crops (2025-26) report has stated.
“In Assam, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Bihar less than 5% paddy farmers benefited from procurement,” the commission which recommends MSP of all the 22 notified crops has noted.
In terms of states share in rice procurement against their marketable surplus, Punjab (92.4%), Haryana (74.1%), Chhattisgarh (73.8%) and Odisha (57.8%) and Telangana (50.1%) have significantly higher share while West Bengal (19%) and Uttar Pradesh (30%) have much lower share.
West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, country’s top two rice producing states accounted for only 9.4% and 11.8% of total marketed surplus of rice while their share in procurement was much lower at 3.7% and 7.4%, respectively, according to CACP. West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, top two rice producing states, contribute 23.7% of total rice production in the country in 2023-24.
“This calls for concerted efforts to strengthen procurement operations in states like Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” the commission said by adding that efforts should be made to improve storage and warehousing infrastructure as well as institutional mechanisms to increase procurement in these states,”.
Meanwhile, CACP has stated that the number of farmers under paddy procurement rose during FY17and FY21, and reached a record level of 1.31 crore. However, a steady decline was observed from 2021-22 onwards and the total number of beneficiary farmers was about 1.1 crore in 2023-24, a decline of around 19% from FY22 and is attributed to high market prices, the commission stated.
The agencies purchased 52.54 million tonne (MT) of rice equivalent of paddy in the 2023-24 season (October-September) while in the 2024-25 season so far, rice purchased by agencies has crossed 46 MT so far.
FCI annually supplies 38 MT of rice for supply to the beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
Key contributors to central pool rice stock include – Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana accounting for over 90% rice procurement in the country.
The rice procured from grain surplus states is also used for keeping a buffer stock with FCI. After paddy is procured from the farmers by FCI and state agencies, it is handed over to millers for conversion into rice. Paddy to rice conversion ratio is 67%.