RAIPUR: Amid farmers’ protest against the new agri laws and demand for guaranteed minimum support price (MSP), Chhattisgarh has procured 92 lakh metric tonnes of paddy under MSP during the current kharif year — the highest in the state’s 20-year history. A record number of 95.4% registered paddy farmers — 20.5 lakh of 21.5 lakh — have sold their crop under MSP, said officials. Procurement season will end on Sunday.
During the 2018 assembly polls, Congress had promised paddy procurement at Rs 2,500 per quintal. It proved to be one of the catalysts in the party’s victory in the election.
Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said the state government made adequate arrangements for purchase of paddy despite adverse circumstances, like a severe shortage of gunnybags. It met the shortfall from alternate sources. The area under paddy farming in Chhattisgarh has grown to 27 lakh hectares in the last two years, he said.