STATE: The Tripura government will procure 40,000 MT of paddy from farmers with a minimum support price of Rs 21.83 per kg for the ongoing season, a minister said on Tuesday.

He said that paddy would be procured in all 49 centers across districts, and the process would commence on December 11 and continue till January 31.

“Like previous years, this time, 40,000 MT of paddy will be procured from farmers with a minimum support price of Rs 21.83 per kg,” Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said during a press conference here.

He appealed to farmers to sell their paddy to the designated centers and avail of the minimum support price.

“The procurement will further boost the socio-economic condition of farmers. It will be in addition to the flagship program of PM Kisan under which each farmer receives Rs 6,000 annually in three phases,” he said, adding that the northeastern state has 4.71 lakh farmers with an average three ‘kani’ land holding capacity.

Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that his department held a meeting with officials of Food & Civil Supplies at the Civil Secretariat here to jointly finalize the paddy procurement process.

The agriculture department has already sought help from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research on how to reduce the gap between paddy production and demand.

“Now, the state has a gap of 19 percent between paddy production and demand, which is the lowest among the northeastern states. This gap is 51 percent each in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, 41 percent each in Assam and Manipur, 32 percent in Meghalaya and 49 percent in Sikkim,” he added. (PTI)