Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Chief Secretary Anu Garg chaired the Odisha government’s state-level review meeting on Rabi paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025–2026 on Wednesday at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. In addition to discussing ways to guarantee efficient collection operations throughout the state, the group examined preparations for the impending Rabi paddy purchase procedure. Head of the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, Registrar of Cooperative Societies; Sanjay Kumar Singh, Cooperative Commissioner and Secretary The conference was attended virtually by Manish Agarwal, district collectors, and high government officials.
Over 18.60 lakh farmers sold paddy during the 2024–25 Kharif procurement season, and approximately 73.16 lakh metric tons of paddy were purchased, officials told the conference. With 18.84 lakh farmers taking part in the current Kharif Marketing Season 2025–2026, procurement has grown to 77.48 lakh metric tons, representing a 5.48 percent rise over the previous year. Additionally, 3,75,556 farmers from 20 districts registered for Rabi procurement in 2025–2026, up from 3,38,481 farmers the year before.
District-level procurement committees have set collection dates starting on May 14 in various districts, while the Rabi paddy purchase season has been set from May 1 to June 30. The Chief Secretary emphasized that sharecroppers and other small, marginal, and legitimate farmers should profit from the procurement process. The state cabinet’s authorized food procurement strategy for KMS 2025–2026 will govern procurement.
According to officials, the procurement process will be carried out in conjunction with district-level agencies such as Revenue, Cooperation, Police, Transport, Agriculture, and Food Supplies. Enforcement officials will keep a close eye on procurement operations on a regular basis, and interstate borders will be strictly guarded to stop the illicit importation of paddy from beyond Odisha. For procurement management, 2,472 mandi nodal officials have been assigned to various districts. During the meeting, K. Sudarshan Chakravarthy, Managing Director of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd., gave a presentation on the operational procedures and procurement method.
