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The government has so far purchased 531.22 lakh tonnes of paddy from more than 70 lakh farmers at the minimum support price in the current Kharif marketing season.
The government is procuring paddy at a time when farmers are agitating on the borders of Delhi demanding withdrawal of all three new agricultural laws. Kharif marketing session starts from October.
Paddy procurement has increased by 26 percent
According to an official statement, “In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Session 2020-21, the government is procuring Kharif 2020-21 produce from farmers on MSP.” Paddy procurement till January 8 has been 531.22 lakh tonnes. This is 26 percent more than the year-ago period.Read also- Union Budget 2021: Economists advise to accelerate privatization, emphasis also on infrastructure
Punjab contributes maximum in total purchases
The statement said that about 70.35 lakh farmers have benefited from the procurement operations of the current Kharif marketing session. Till now, the government has spent Rs 1,00,294.26 crore in procurement on MSP. Punjab has the highest contribution of 202.77 lakh tonnes in procurement of 531.22 lakh tonnes of paddy. The statement said that till January 8, 82,19,567 bales of cotton have been purchased for Rs 24,063.30 crore. 16,00,518 farmers have benefited from this.
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Farmer movement: farmers and government will meet again on January 15
Thousands of farmers of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have been protesting against the new agricultural laws on the borders of Delhi for more than a month. The eighth round of talks between the agitation unions and the central government was also fruitless on Friday. The next round of talks will be held on 15 January.
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