Farmers Should Face No Inconvenience in Selling Their Paddy: Agriculture Minister*

*Minister Directs Officials to Ensure All Arrangements Ahead of Paddy Procurement*

Chandigarh, September 15: The Haryana Government has intensified administrative preparations for the government procurement of paddy, which is scheduled to commence from October 1. During a high-level review meeting chaired by Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Sh. Shyam Singh Rana, officials were directed to ensure comprehensive and adequate arrangements at mandis across the State so that farmers do not face any inconvenience in selling their produce.

Senior officers from the Agriculture Department, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, Haryana State Warehousing Corporation and various other departments associated with the paddy procurement process attended the meeting.

Special technological measures are once again being adopted this year to ensure transparency in the procurement process and ensure that only genuine farmers benefit from the system. Paddy will be procured only from eligible farmers on the basis of registered and verified data available on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal. Officials informed the Minister that gate passes would be issued only after verifying farmers bringing paddy to the mandis through geofencing technology. In addition, final procurement of the crop would be approved only after matching the crop details entered by the farmer on the portal with the prescribed average yield of the concerned area.

The Agriculture Minister made it clear that the entire process, from the issuance of gate passes and weighing of the crop to the transfer of payment directly into the farmer’s bank account after the sale, should be simple and transparent.

Along with the ongoing paddy procurement arrangements, the Agriculture Minister also directed officials to make advance preparations for the upcoming Rabi season, particularly for wheat sowing. He directed that adequate advance stocks of essential fertilizers such as urea and DAP should be maintained so that farmers do not face any shortage during sowing. He also stressed ensuring the timely availability of high-quality certified seeds.