Amid mass farmer agitations in Punjab and Haryana, the Centre has advanced kharif paddy procurement, allowing operations to begin on Saturday, September 26, instead of the scheduled date of October 1.
According to the Food Ministry, the change is due to the early arrival of paddy in these States. Both states have announced that procurement will begin from Sunday.
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Punjab and Haryana have been the hotspots of farmer protests against three controversial new Bills successfully piloted through Parliament by the government during the monsoon session to enable agriculture market reform. However, farmers fear that the new legislation will dismantle the government’s procurement system and the minimum support prices (MSP) by undermining the network of notified mandis.
“Paddy/rice procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS)…