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FCI procurement centres in Puducherry, Karaikal

Staff Reporter

MSP for fine variety fixed at Rs. 650 a quintal; Rs. 620 for common variety

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

PARLEYS: Agriculture Minister V. Vaithilingam (left) holding discussions with officials from the Food Corporation of India on Wednesday.

PUDUCHERRY: The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to procure paddy directly from farmers in the Union Territory.

The Corporation, through its two centres in Puducherry and one in Karaikal , would procure at least 30,000 tonnes from the farmers here, according to Agriculture Minister V. Vaithilingam.

The centres in Puducherry would be at Thattanchavady and Thiruvandarkoil. Karaikal centre would operate within the town limits.

Initially, the paddy would be procured by the FCI from the Agriculture Marketing Committee centres. After that farmers would have to travel to the centres to sell the paddy, the Minister told The Hindu .

The FCI had fixed the minimum support price (MSP) for one quintal of fine variety of paddy at Rs. 650 and for the common variety at Rs. 620. The procurement would be done after quality check by the FCI, he added. Besides the MSP price, the farmers would get Rs. 50 per quintal as an incentive from the Government.

The Minister said they had sought the intervention of the FCI, as during the peak time, the price dropped below the MSP.

The entry of the FCI would arrest that trend, he pointed out. Last year, the sale of paddy was around 60,000 tonnes in Puducherry and 30,000 tonnes in Karaikal.

The Minister said that several steps were being taken to increase the productivity and this year it was expected to be higher, especially in Karaikal region.

Earlier, during the discussion with the Minister, Y.K Kunj, General Manager, FCI Tamil Nadu said the payments would be given to the farmers immediately.

He wanted the Government to make sure that only farmers from the Union Territory would get the benefit. The FCI would not procure paddy from the traders, he added.

Later, he said that in future, the FCI would also buy rice from the mill owners. The Minister had called for a meeting of mill owners to discuss the procedures to be adopted.

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