Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Centre has agreed to procure an additional six lakh mt of rice from Odisha following a request made by the state government. This was stated by Odisha’s Food Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Thursday. The state government has been urging the Centre to procure the surplus rice as warehouses are full. He said the Centre has agreed to procure six lakh mt of rice, including five lakh mt of boiled rice, from Odisha by April.
The state has surplus rice of seven lakh mt. The remaining one lakh mt of rice will be sold through auction, the Minister added. The Centre usually procures around 50 lakh mt of rice from Odisha, officials said.
According to Patra, the state has obtained 10.50 lakh MT of paddy from about 2.30 lakh farmers during the current kharif season, and paddy procurement is under progress in 18 out of 30 districts. According to him, the government has given farmers input assistance and MSP of Rs 2,350 crore for the purchased paddy. The government will purchase paddy from all registered farmers until March.
