Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said the state government has already a made record procurement of 32.61 lakh metric tonne (MT) of paddy from 4.50 lakh farmers through Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) in the current season.
Paddy will be procured from farmers till February 15.
At a virtual review meeting, Kumar asked the officials concerned to achieve the target of procuring maximum paddy from farmers within the time frame.
It also must be ensured that peasants receive price of the procured produce on time, the chief minister said.
The CM said the demand for ‘Usna’ (parboiled) rice is more in the state and officials should make a move so that the number of mills that produce such rice increases.
At the meeting, the cooperative department secretary Bandana Preyasi gave a detailed presentation about the procurement of paddy from the farmers in the state.
Two varieties of paddy, kharif and garma, are cultivated in the state.
Officials said that the amount of kharif paddy produced in 2019-20 was 69.53 lakh MT.
The paddy procured from farmers is given to people through the public distribution system.