Ongoing KMS procurement has benefited more than 72 Lakh Farmers: Agriculture Ministry

According to a statement by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare on Tuesday, about 72.46 lakh farmers benefited from the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) procurement operations with a minimum support price (MSP) value of Rs. 1,02,161.76 Crore (January 12). 

In Punjab, West Bengal, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, AP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Karnataka and Uttarakhand, paddy procurement continues with purchases of more than 541.11 LMTs of paddy until 11 January. 

It is an improvement of 26.07 percent from the equivalent acquisition of 429.20 LMT last year. 

Punjab alone contributed 202.77 LMT out of the overall acquisition of 541.11 LMT, which is 37.47 percent of the total procurement

A total of 2,88,457.68 MT is procured from Moong, Urad, Groundnut Pods and Soyabean with an MSP value of Rs.1,543.27 Crores, benefiting 1,53,439 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan, the ministry release added. 

In addition, 5,089 MT of Copra was procured, with an MSP value of Rs.52.40 crore, helping 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 

This was until 11 January, relative to the equivalent procurement last year of 293.34 MT of Copra.