Paddy Procurement

Assam has set a target of a record 8.49 lakh metric tonnes of paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026-27. This will be higher than the 8 lakh MT set for 2025-26. This milestone underscores the state’s aggressive strategy to bolster its agricultural economy, safeguard farmers from market volatility, and build robust public foodgrain stocks. Officially announced by the Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Department, this first-crop target represents a steady upward trajectory from previous years, surpassing the 8 lakh MT target fixed for 2025-26, the 8.01 lakh MT set for 2024-25, and the 6.53 lakh MT from 2023-24. This targeted expansion forms part of a broader vision articulated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to institutionalise a permanent annual procurement threshold of 10 lakh or one million metric tonnes. By scaling up decentralized purchasing, the administration aims to transition the state’s agricultural infrastructure from subsistence farming support to a major hub for regional rice supplies. It is important to note that to seamlessly execute the collection of 8.49 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, the state has to vastly decentralise its procurement infrastructure. The Government of Assam already has a total of 181 Paddy Procurement Centres (PPCs) in operation, which are spread across all 35 districts of Assam, including the three hill districts and the island district of Majuli. The decentralisation aims to ensure that the procurement mechanism directly reaches the interior rural areas. While the official purchasing window will open on November 1, the process will actively extend up to May 31, 2027.  What is also important to note is that farmers will benefit from a direct increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which has been raised by Rs 72 per quintal for this season with the objective of offsetting rising input costs and encouraging localised selling. Pertinent to note, the ambitious 2026-27 target has been set close on the heels of a highly successful preceding fiscal cycle. In the state’s recent financial projections, the government has highlighted that a staggering Rs 5,500 crore has been disbursed to farmers across the districts, thus enabling the record clearance of 26.19 lakh MT of paddy cumulative totals through various seasonal crops. Assam, being one of the earliest paddy-growing states in the subcontinent, maintains a rich genetic diversity with over 250 indigenous paddy species, apart from germplasm accessions exceeding 7,000 types maintained by the Assam Agricultural University.