53.96 LMT paddy procured, 6 LMT short of season target

With the procurement of parmal varieties coming to an end on November 15, Haryana has fallen short of 6 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of its paddy target for the 2024 season.

All procurement agencies have procured 53.96 lakh MT of paddy in all grain markets of the state against the target of 60 lakh MT. This year’s procurement also lags behind the 59 lakh MT achieved in the previous season, according to the official data.

Three districts contributed almost half of the procurement -- Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal. Kurukshetra district has procured the maximum 10,30,357.65 MT of paddy, followed by Karnal (8,40,444.73 MT) and Kaithal (8,38,915.62).

The agencies have procured 7,42,995.61 MT of paddy in Fatehabad, 6,10,337.08 MT in Yamunanagar, 6,06,820.55 MT in Ambala, 2,98,627.77 MT in Sirsa, 2,06,877.72 in Jind, 1,01,245.43 MT in Panchkula, 59,805.19 MT in Hisar, 24,353.44 MT in Palwal, 21,644.25 MT in Panipat, 6,861.15 MT in Rohtak, 5,419.09 MT in Sonepat, 1,839.19 MT in Faridabad and 93.11 MT in Jhajjar, the data said.

A senior official attributed the shortfall to various factors, including weather conditions, a shift in cropping patterns and stringent monitoring measures.

“The rainfall during the flowering and maturity stages impacted production. Many farmers switched from parmal varieties to the 1509 basmati variety, reducing the volume of parmal available for procurement. Crop diversification also played a role, but it has a minor impact,” said a senior official of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department.

An official of the Haryana Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) highlighted that strict monitoring at Haryana-UP border and at grain markets and higher paddy and rice prices in other states impacted the inflow of paddy into Haryana’s grain markets. Earlier, there was a low price of paddy and rice in other states, which was allegedly procured by some traders and brought to Haryana to adjust against the ‘proxy procurement’. As per the official, the arrival of paddy or rice from other states was allegedly used for custom-milled rice (CMR).

Weather, crop diversification major reasons

• Officials of the Agriculture Department have cited several reasons for the shortfall, with weather conditions, a shift in cropping patterns and stringent monitoring measures being major ones
• The rainfall during the flowering and maturity stages impacted production. Many farmers switched from parmal varieties to the 1509 basmati variety, reducing parmal available for procurement. Crop diversification also played a role,” said a senior official