After shortage, FCI to procure rice from state

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will procure rice from the state government to ensure uninterrupted supply of the same in ICDS centres and for midday meals in schools.

This year, FCI will be buying it from the state government as it has failed to procure as much quantity of paddy directly from farmers that they usually procure every year, said the state Food and Supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick.

Every year, FCI procures around 25 lakh Metric Tonne (MT) rice directly from farmers. But this year, the quantity of direct procurement by FCI stood at only 1.83 lakh MT till date from November 2016 and drop in procurement came due to certain issues related to the process of giving payment to farmers through NEFT.

On the other hand, FCI supplies 4.5 lakh MT rice to the ICDS centres and schools for midday meals in schools in the state every year. But they have procured only 1.83 lakh MT from farmers. In such a situation, FCI will be buying 1.5 lakh MT rice from the state government to ensure uninterrupted supply of rice to ICDS centres and schools for midday meal.

A meeting will be convened with the state Food minister, top brasses of the Food and Supplies department and officials of FCI where the decision to give another 1.5 lakh MT rice to FCI is expected to get finalised. The minister said that the decision of procuring rice from Bengal government is reasonable as it would ensure supply of good quality rice to ICDS centres and schools.

Bengal is the highest producer of paddy in the country and the annual production stands at 2 lakh crore MT. The state government procures around 25 percent of the total production at a rate of Rs 1,490 per quintal. Another 25 percent of the total production goes to open markets and the remaining 50 percent is exported.

Till date, the state government has procured around 39.10 lakh MT paddy from nine lakh five thousand and ninety-five farmers.

Mallick further said that it has been decided to engage specialty quality controllers at all its godowns to ensure proper quality checking before procurement of rice. "A tender will be

floated through which a private company that has experience in performing the task will be engaged and supply of rice in old jute sacs will also not

be allowed," Mallick said that a laboratory to carry out different tests related to rice will also be set up.