Slow pace of procurement hampers UP's target to buy 5 mn tonnes of paddy

If UP govt is able to achieve its procurement target, the total payout to the state's farmers is projected to hit almost Rs 85 bn

Paddy procurement in the current kharif marketing season is witnessing a sluggish pace in Uttar Pradesh with the target of purchasing five million tonnes (mt) looking difficult to achieve.  

While more than 55 days, or roughly 38 per cent of the total five months mandated for paddy procurement during October-February, have passed, the Yogi Adityanath government has managed to purchase only about 245,000 tonnes of the cash crop from less than 30,000 state farmers. 

The state has only been able to procure about five per cent of its massive target so far.  

Last year, the Adityanath government had clocked almost double