Nabarangpur, Dec, 24: The paddy procurement centre inauguration programme organized by the Regulated Market Committee, Nabarangpur, the Hon’ble Minister for School and Mass Education, Nityananda Gond, attended as the chief guest and formally inaugurated the paddy procurement process from farmers in the district.
Present on the dais as distinguished guests were the Hon’ble Dabugam MLA Manohar Randhari, District Collector Dr. Maheshwar Swain, Additional District Magistrate (General) Tapan Kumar Khuntia, and Sub-Collector Prakash Kumar Mishra, among others.
At the outset, Sub-Collector Prakash Kumar Mishra welcomed all and presented information regarding the paddy procurement arrangements made by the district administration.
In his address, Minister Nityananda Gond spoke about the Krushak Samruddhi Yojana, payment of paddy price along with incentive amounts to farmers, and the government’s priority towards farmers. He directed the district administration to ensure smooth and efficient conduct of the paddy procurement process.
Dabugam MLA Manohar Randhari, in his speech, emphasized preventing distress sale and ensuring all necessary facilities for farmers at the mandis (procurement centres). District Collector Dr. Swain highlighted the importance of proper arrangements for farmers, maintenance of peace and order, and successful completion of the procurement process, and instructed concerned officials to discharge their responsibilities properly.
For the Kharif season 2025–26, farmers will be able to sell their produce at 58 paddy procurement centres in the district. A total of 52 paddy procurement agencies—including 13 LAMPS, 2 Pani Panchayats, and 37 Women Self-Help Groups—have been engaged to procure paddy from farmers at designated mandis on different days of the week.
This year, the government has fixed the price of paddy at ₹2,369 per quintal for Common FAQ quality and ₹2,389 per quintal for ‘A’ grade FAQ quality, along with an incentive of Rs731 per quintal.
Arrangements have been made at each mandi for drinking water, lighting, toilets, weighing machines, tarpaulins, first-aid kits, tables and chairs, polythene sheets, etc. This year, 50,919 farmers have registered for paddy sale. In the first phase, the district has set a procurement target of 14,88,000 quintals of paddy.
Among others present at the programme were CSO Debashish Mahanti, DRCS Sadananda Behera, CDAO Sudhir Ranjan Behera, DIPRO Manoj Behera, BDO Sunil Khara, DSWO Dupadi Kahar, social workers Kunj Bihari Das and Kahnu Charan Das, farmer leader Jhadeswar Khadangga, progressive farmers Saroj Patra and Rajendra Tripathy.
The meeting was conducted by Kapilendra Sasmala, Secretary of the Regulated Market Committee.