Bengal to begin paddy procurement from Nov 1; payments directly to farmers' accounts

Kolkata, Oct 25 (IANS) The West Bengal Food Department will start buying paddy from farmers at the beginning of the kharif season on November 1, said a senior government official on Saturday.

It has been informed that if the paddy is sold in the government buying centre, the farmers will get the price of paddy within a maximum of three working days. The money will directly enter the bank account of the farmers. This initiative has been taken to ensure that there is no delay in getting money for the farmers after the sale of paddy, according to the official.

The government will buy paddy for the 2025-26 season across the state from November 1.

To collect this paddy, the Food Department is launching 620 permanent buying centres. In addition, about 179 mobile permanent purchase centres, which will mainly travel to remote areas, will buy paddy from farmers.

These mobile centres will play a major role especially where it is difficult for the farmers to reach the nearby permanent buying centres.

At the same time, temporary paddy procurement camps will be conducted at various places during the kharif season. These camps will be managed by various government agencies.

According to the guidelines issued by the Food Department, the agencies should inform the Food Department the day after the purchase of paddy in the temporary camp. The Food Department will verify that information and send the money to the farmer’s bank account quickly.

Farmers will get Rs 2,369 per quintal if they sell paddy this season. Besides, the state government has decided to give an additional bonus of Rs 20 in case they sell paddy in government purchasing centres. Therefore, a total of Rs 2,389 per quintal will go to the farmer.

However, online registration has been made mandatory for the sale of paddy by the Food Department. Farmers have to go to the designated purchase centre and sell paddy on the appointed day.

“If for some reason it is not possible to reach on the appointed day, then re-booking should be done,” said the official.

It should be noted that from November to February, these four months are considered as the busiest and most important time for buying paddy.

--IANS

sch/pgh