Food Supplies Minister announces extended token validity to help registered farmers

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Food Supplies Minister Krushna Patra on Wednesday announced extended token validity to help farmers who have registered for procurement of paddy.

In a video message, the Food Supplies Minister informed that 63,65,000 metric tons of paddy has been procured by the state government till date with districts like Bargarh and Sambalpur have completed nearly 95% of their procurement. However, the government is prepared to purchase up to 80,00,000 metric tons, surpassing previous records, the Minister announced.

Though the procurement drive for this season continues until March 31, Minister Patra emphasized that District Collectors now have the power to extend token validity by 15 days to ensure every registered farmer has the opportunity to sell their crops without hassle.

The procurement of paddy is being monitored on a real-time basis via central Command Center and payments are being processed within 48 hours of procurement to ensure financial liquidity for growers, the Minister claimed while mentioning that state government has already transferred over Rs 17,000 crore directly into the bank accounts of the farmers.