In line with efforts to double the income of farmers and ensure fair prices for their crops, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh has commenced the purchase of paddy for the Kharif procurement season of 2023-24, just like every year, starting from October 1.

Notably, adequate arrangements have been made at the paddy purchase centers to ensure that farmers face no difficulties. Moreover, special instructions have been given to department officials and nodal agencies for this purpose.

This season, the UP government is purchasing paddy at increased MSP. The new MSP rates for common and Grade A paddy are Rs 2,183 per quintal and Rs 2,203 per quintal respectively.

Last year, these rates were Rs 2,040 per quintal for common paddy and Rs 2,060 per quintal for Grade A paddy, officials here on Sunday said.

This season, the nodal agency for paddy procurement, Food and Civil Supplies Department, will purchase about 70 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, setting a new record. Special care has been taken to ensure that farmers do not face any problem in bringing paddy to the center. Notably, these centers have been established near the farmers’ fields.

Additionally, the Food and Supplies Department is making transparent arrangements for immediate payment to farmers after crop purchase. For this, the centers have been geo-tagged with the help of Remote Sensing Application Center (RSAC).

In order to participate in the paddy procurement process, farmers in the state need to register themselves on the Food and Civil Supplies Department’s portal at www.fcs.up.gov.in. The procurement of paddy will be carried out through the Electronic Point of Purchase (E-PoP) machines with biometric authentication of farmers.

Besides, on the lines of wheat procurement, paddy will also be procured through PFMS portal. The payment for the purchase of paddy made through the portal will reach the farmer’s account within 72 hours.

Procurement of paddy has started in Bareilly, Moradabad, Meerut, Saharanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Jhansi and Hardoi, Sitapur and Lakhimpur of Lucknow division from October 1, while paddy procurement will be started from November 1 in Lucknow region including Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Chitrakoot, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Devipatan, Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Prayagraj.

All procurement centers will operate from 9 am to 5 pm. Farmers can obtain information about registration, land area verification, procurement, and MSP payment through the department’s mobile app, UP KISHAN MITRA, from the comfort of their homes.

The Yogi government has arranged for the direct payment of paddy prices to farmers’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts through the PFMS for this procurement season. For this, it is necessary for farmers to have an active bank account linked with Aadhaar and mapped on the NPCI portal by the bank. In addition, a nomination system has been implemented for the convenience of farmers.

Moreover, farmers who had previously registered for wheat and paddy procurement in the Kharif Marketing year 2023-24 do not need to re-register for paddy sale. They only need to update and lock their registration.