The Bengal government has decided to launch a publicity campaign to encourage more farmers to register to sell their paddy to the state in an apparent effort to reach out to most farmers with the benefit of minimum support price (MSP) for their produce ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
However, with the cash-strapped state offering a bonus of only ₹20 per quintal in addition to the Centre’s MSP, like last year, many officials felt paddy procurement could continue to be a challenge.
The Centre has announced an MSP of ₹2,300 per quintal of paddy. With the state’s ₹20 bonus, the total MSP for paddy is ₹2,320 per quintal in Bengal.
“District authorities have been asked to launch a publicity campaign to make farmers aware of the benefits if they sell their paddy to the government. We want a maximum number of farmers to get registered with the procurement agencies so that they can get the benefit of the MSP in this procurement season,” said a senior government official.
The move was initiated after the state food and supplies department failed to achieve the twin targets of registering 25 lakh farmers and procuring 70 lakh tonnes of paddy in the 2023-24 procurement season.
Only 17.57 lakh farmers registered with the government. The state could procure only 51.32 lakh tonnes of paddy in the season.
“This time, the state has set a target of procuring 68 lakh tonnes of paddy directly from farmers. However, we did not fix any target in terms of farmers’ registration. We will try to better last year’s figure as much as possible. If it crosses last year’s target of 25 lakh farmers, we will be happy,” said an official.
Senior government officials said that the ruling establishment wanted to ensure the benefit of the MSP to as many farmers as possible.
“This will benefit the ruling party in the 2026 Assembly polls as 72 lakh farmers in the state hold the key to electoral success in rural areas across the state,” said a source.
Sources in the food and supplies department said that they would focus on increasing the number of permanent procurement centres and mobile procurement centres to cut the waiting time for farmers who come to sell their produce.
“Earlier, farmers had to wait for weeks to sell their produce to the government as there were a limited number of procurement centres. This year, we will also engage mobile procurement centres to buy paddy from farmers at their doorstep,” said an official.
The state proposes to set up 620 permanent procurement centres this year, some 60 more compared to last year. However, only 184 mobile procurement centres would be deployed in a state with 341 blocks, which is inadequate for buying paddy from the doorsteps of farmers.
However, the sum being offered to farmers as the bonus might be a hurdle, some officials pointed out.
“Bengal’s farmers get around ₹2,250 a quintal for their produce in the open market with no waiting period. Now, the government MSP, including bonus, is ₹2,320, only ₹70 more, but with long waiting periods. This is why many farmers have no interest in selling their produce to the government. The long waiting period and meagre bonus are deterrents,” said an official.
Sources in the government said that states such as Chhatisgarh and Odisha announced a bonus of ₹800 per quintal of paddy over and above the Centre’s MSP, taking the MSP to Rs 3,100 per quintal. Even a small state like Jharkhand announced a bonus of ₹100 per quintal over the Centre’s MSP.
“Farmers in Bengal could have been attracted even if a bonus of ₹100 per quintal was announced. But as the cash-strapped state could not give a handsome bonus. It remains to be seen what farmers decide,” said a source.
