Bhubaneswar, Jan 17: Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the Centre to procure 10 lakh metric tons (LMT) more parboiled rice from Odisha in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24 for the benefit of the farmers of the state.

In a letter to Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal dated on January 16, Pradhan said, "Odisha is the fourth largest paddy-producing state in the country. In the Kharif season of 2023-24, the rice yield in Odisha has been phenomenal and procurement has already commenced which is accruing good return to lakhs of farmers in the State through the MSP operations."

"Due to the bumper harvest, it is estimated that approximately 79 LMT rice will be collected in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24 in Odisha," he added.

"The Government of India has allocated a target of procuring 44.28 LMT of rice in the initial allocation of targets. However, besides meeting the state’s own requirement of rice for NFSA, SFSA and other welfare schemes, enough paraboiled fortified rice would be left in excess which needs to be evacuated by the Food Corporation of India," he noted.

“Therefore, I request you to kindly issue instructions to FCI to procure 10 LMT of parboiled rice from Odisha in KMS 2023-24 in addition to augmentation of procurement targets, which will significantly help secure the livelihood of lakhs of farmers of the state whose main source of earning has been through MSP operations of paddy procurement,” Pradhan concluded.

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