Centre set on aligning paddy purchase with average yield

Land records being integrated into a central database

The Centre is going ahead with its plan to align the procurement of paddy with the average yield of a district from this year to ensure only bona fide farmers sell paddy at the minimum support price (MSP), and middlemen and traders don’t game the system.

This system, present in some states, is being extended across the country. In Punjab, the Centre has fixed a target of buying 17 million tonnes (mt) of paddy, based on yield estimates, but the state government wants it to be raised to 19 mt since yields are projected to have gone up this year.

Haryana has been following a system of procurement, based on average yields for the past few years, as has Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

Senior officials said the system is being put in place jointly with states to ensure procurement is done from genuine farmers. They categorically denied the move is meant to discontinue the current practice of open-ended procurement, wherein the Centre buys the entire amount of grains from farmers without checks.

Land records, too, need to be mandatorily uploaded on state procurement portals, and will now be integrated into a central database.

“The state agriculture department every season comes out with the average yield of foodgrain for each district. What we are saying is that we will procure, based on that yield as provided by the state, so that round-tripping of foodgrain is avoided. This will ensure only legitimate farmers benefit from the annual procurement system and traders don’t milk the arrangement,” clarified a senior official.

He said although the openended procurement system is not being abolished by linking purchases to the average yield of a district, it does not mean traders can purchase paddy from one place and sell it at another to make a cut because the market price is lower than MSP.

Moreover, the Centre in a recent statement also laid down some minimum threshold parameters each procurement portal designed and developed by state governments needs to have. Each state portal will now be integrated into a centralised system. This will enable central monitoring of the quantity of grains procured from each field and transfer of 0money into the bank account of farmers through MSP.

The rules also said all procurement should be done via registered portals, based on five common parameters.

“The parameters have to be common. By end-october, all such details will be integrated into a centralised database, which will help in monitoring procurement and payment on a real-time basis with full transparency,” elucidated the official.

The five mandatory requirements are full name, address, mobile number, Aadhaar details, and cultivation minutiae of each farmer wanting to sell to government agencies.

After this, there will also be full integration of farmer details into state land records. This is to make certain that only those who have actually cultivated the produce avail of the MSP benefits and traders don’t enter the system. Then there will be digitised mandi receipts. After this, the MSP will be paid into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts or through the central public financial management system. Finally, there will be auto-generation of bills and taking over of stocks.

“All this when available in an integrated centralised database will help in real-time monitoring of procurement from rightful farmers (since land records and yields are available online), along with a digitised payment system,” elaborated the official. The system will also help square off actual procurement to what states claim. This will facilitate smooth settlement of pending claims.

“Interestingly, state governments have come forward and are establishing this system since roughly 90 per cent of the grain procurement is done by them on behalf of the Food Corporation of India,” he added.

He also discounted any lowering of paddy procurement estimates this year, compared to 2020-21, since the latest numbers are based on the production figure provided by each state government.

The Centre has purchased over 60 mt of rice in 2020-21 (October-september), against its plans to procure 50 mt. This year, too, the actual procurement is expected to be far more than estimated.