Centre Approves Additional Rice Procurement from Odisha Following Minister’s Request

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BHUBANESWAR : Days after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged his Food and Public Distribution counterpart Piyush Goyal to lift surplus rice from Odisha for the benefit of farmers, the Centre approved lifting of an additional 10 lakh tonne parboiled rice from the state.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will procure the rice from the state. Pradhan had sought Goyal’s intervention to enhance the paddy procurement target and evacuation of surplus parboiled rice from the state during the ongoing kharif marketing season (KMS). “The department of Food and Public Distribution has accorded approval for acceptance of 10 lakh tonne of fortified parboiled rice by FCI in Odisha in the KMS 2023-24,” Goyal said in his reply to Pradhan.

The state government has fixed paddy procurement target of 79 lakh tonne, which will be around 54 lakh tonne in terms of rice. The state will have around 10 lakh tonne of surplus rice as the Centre reduced the target to procure 44.28 lakh tonne of rice from the state for the central pool against 53.83 lakh tonne procured in the last kharif season.

As per the MoU between states and FCI, if the stock of rice procured by the state government exceeds its allocation under targeted PDS and other welfare schemes, such excess stock shall be handed over to FCI. However, the latter will have the option to specify whether such excess rice that would be handed over for the central pool by the state government shall be in the form of raw rice or parboiled rice, to meet overall consumption requirement of the country.

“Odisha mostly produces parboiled rice as primarily it is a parboiled consuming state. It becomes difficult for FCI to lift the surplus parboiled rice due to burgeoning stock levels in the central pool. The FCI Odisha region was allowed to procure four lakh tonne of parboiled rice this season. The approval has now been extended to 10 lakh tonne,” said a senior FCI official.

The Centre had allowed Odisha for delivery of 18.38 lakh tonne of parboiled rice in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

For farmers’ benefit

• The additional 10 lakh tonne parboiled rice will be procured by FCI
• State govt has fixed paddy procurement target of 79 lakh tonne

Rice concern a drama: BJD

Bhubaneswar: BJD on Friday said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s concern for farmers of the state is a new drama. President of Biju Mahila Janata Dal Snehangiri Chhuria said Pradhan who was silent over the excess rice issue for the last 10 years raised it ahead of elections by writing to his own cabinet colleague. She, however, thanked Union Minister Piyush Goyal for taking the decision for procurement of parboiled rice from Odisha.

Published Date: January 20, 2024