The Gujarat government has announced that the State agency would procure groundnut directly from the farmers at ₹1,055 for 20 kg fixed as the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

The government pegs the output of the mainstay oilseed crop at 54.6 lakh tonnes for kharif.

Following a bumper crop projection after a record sowing for kharif 2020-21, the government announced that the procurement operations for groundnut would start from November 19.

The decision to procure the oilseed directly from the farmers was taken at a weekly Cabinet meeting held in the capital on Wednesday.

According to Jayesh Radadiya, Minister for Food & Civil Supplies, the procurement will begin after Diwali on November 19 on the auspicious day of “Labh Panchami”.

Before the procurement operation, the State Civil Supplies Corporation would announce the date from which the farmers can register themselves to sell their produce.

In Gujarat, the arrival of groundnut in the markets has started with prices in the range of ₹3,330-5,030 per quintal, which is substantially less than the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹5,275 fixed by the Centre for the kharif 2020.

As per the Gujarat government’s first advance estimate, the output is estimated to be an all-time high at 54.65 lakh tonnes.

However, the expected yield is expected to be lower at 2,637 kg/ha, as against 2,764 kg/ha last year.

Gujarat is the largest producer of the oilseed in the country. In 2019-20, the fourth advance estimate had projected India’s kharif groundnut crop at 83.67 lakh tonnes, of which more than 50% or about 45 lakh tonnes was Gujarat’s contribution.

Owing to excessive rainfall this monsoon, the farmers have expressed concern on the damage to the crop due to heavy flooding in the Saurashtra region, main sowing area.

The State government has announced compensation for the losses exceeding 33% for the flood-hit farmers in Saurashtra.

The State Civil Supplies department has been appointed as the nodal agency to conduct the procurement operations. The Minister has not clarified on the quantity to be procured from the farmers. Usually, the mandate for the procurement agencies is for the quantities up to 25% of the crop.