The Centre has allowed five states to procure 13.77 lakh tonnes of pulses and oilseeds in the current Kharif season (2020-21), the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said in a statement on Monday. The five states are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana.

The Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21 has just begun and the government will continue to procure crops from the farmers at minimum support price (MSP) as per its existing MSP schemes like the previous seasons, said the statement.

Based on the proposal from the states, approval has been accorded to the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana for the procurement of 13.77 lakh tonnes of pulses and oilseeds for KMS 2020-21, as per the statement.

For the other states/Union Territories, approval will be accorded on receipt of proposals for Kharif pulses and oilseeds and procurement will be made as per the Price Support Scheme (PSS) if market rates go below their MSP, the ministry said.

As per reports, up to September 24, the government through its nodal agencies has procured 34.20 MT of moong having MSP value of Rs 25 lakh, benefiting 40 farmers in Tamil Nadu.

Similarly, 5,089 MT of copra (the perennial crop) having MSP value of Rs 52.40 crore has been procured, benefiting 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against the sanctioned quantity of 95.75 LMT for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The procurement of paddy during KMS 2020-21 has just started from September 26, and up to September 27, 5,637 MT having MSP value of Rs 10.53 crore at MSP of Rs 1,868 per quintal has been procured from 390 farmers in Haryana and Punjab, said the Agriculture Ministry.

The procurement of paddy for the remaining states has been allowed to commence from Monday.

The procurement of cotton for the 2020-21 season shall commence from October 1, 2020 and the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will start purchase of FAQ grade cotton from October 1 onwards, as per the statement.