Instruct FCI To Procure 10 Lakh MT Of Parboiled Rice From Odisha: Dharmendra Pradhan

Bhubaneswar: The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has requested his cabinet colleague, Piyush Goyal, to instruct the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure 10 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of parboiled rice from Odisha during the 2023–24 marketing season. 

In a written communication, Pradhan urged the Consumer Affairs Minister to direct the FCI to secure an additional 10 LMT of parboiled rice from Odisha, along with an expansion of the procurement targets. This move aims to significantly support the livelihoods of numerous farmers in the state, whose primary income is derived from Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations related to paddy procurement.

Highlighting Odisha as the fourth largest paddy-producing state in the country, Pradhan emphasized the exceptional rice yield in the Kharif Season of 2023–24. Procurement has already commenced, proving to be financially beneficial for lakhs of farmers in Odisha participating in MSP operations.

Due to the extraordinary harvest, it is anticipated that approximately 79 LMT of rice will be amassed in the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023–24 in Odisha. The Government of India has initially set a target of procuring 44.28 LMT of rice during KMS 2023–24. However, with the state fulfilling its own rice requirements for programs such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA), State Food Security Act (SFSA), and other welfare schemes, there will be surplus parboiled fortified rice that needs to be evacuated by the FCI, according to the Minister’s statement.