Punjab tops in paddy procurement under central pool with over 22% share

State of Punjab, which is known as India’s food bowl, has traditionally been the biggest beneficiary of the paddy procurement under the central pool.

New Delhi: Punjab is the biggest beneficiary of the procurement of paddy by the central government’s procurement agencies as nearly one-fourth of the total paddy procured in the country in the last financial year was procured from the state, showed the latest official data. Procurement of paddy under the central pool, where the central government pays a fixed price, the minimum support price (MSP), to the farmers has gone up from 510 lakh tons in 2015-16 to nearly 896 lakh tons in 2020-21 Kharif season. There Has been an increase of over 75% in the procurement of paddy in the last five years.

State of Punjab, which is known as India’s food bowl, has traditionally been the biggest beneficiary of the paddy procurement under the central pool. The state which accounts for less than 2% of the country’s landmass and around 2% of the country’s population with 27 million inhabitants is known for its fertile land and high yield. In response to a question, the food and public distribution minister Piyush Goyal informed the Lok Sabha that the central government fixes the minimum support price for procurement under the central pool for over 22 agricultural crops including wheat and paddy. Goyal said the government has not received any complaint regarding discrimination against any state by the central procurement agencies. "Central agencies do not discriminate towards states in the procurement of crops under Minimum Support Price," said the minister.

Epicentre of farmer’s agitation

Punjab is one of the biggest contributors in the central pool both in wheat and rice. Perhaps this dependence on the foodgrains for its economy was the reason behind the intense year-long protest against the three farm laws passed by the Modi government in 2020 as farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana were at the forefront of the farmer’s agitation.

In 2015-16, more than 139 lakh tons of paddy was procured from Punjab, which was over 27% of the total paddy procurement by the central agencies in the year. Over 510 lakh tons of paddy was procured in that year under the central pool. In 2020-21, the paddy procurement from Punjab under the central pool increased to nearly 203 lakh tons. However, in terms of percentage, its share declined from over 27% in 2015-16 to 22.54% in 2020-21.

Telangana second-biggest paddy supplier

Punjab is followed by another major paddy growing state Telangana. More than 141 lakh tons of paddy was procured from the state last year, which accounts for nearly 16% of the total paddy procurement under the central pool. Telangana is followed by Andhra Pradesh (84.57 lakh tons), Odisha (77.33 lakh tons), and Chattisgarh (71.07 lakh tons). Other major paddy growing states are Uttar Pradesh (66.84 lakh tons), Haryana (56.55 lakh tons), Tamil Nadu (66.84 lakh tons), Madhya Pradesh (37.27 lakh tons), Bihar (35.59 lakh tons), West Bengal (27.79 lakh tons), and Maharashtra (18.99 lakh tons).