Ranchi, March 29: The financial year 2025-26 is nearing its end, but rice procurement in Jharkhand is lagging significantly behind its targets. The government set a goal to procure 60 lakh quintals of rice this year, yet only 46.27 lakh quintals have been purchased so far. This leaves approximately 14 lakh quintals still to be acquired, which is considered a challenging task given the limited time remaining.
The district-wise performance is also unsatisfactory. Areas such as West Singhbhum, Simdega, Sahibganj, Pakur, Lohardaga, and Khunti have not even reached a procurement figure of one lakh quintals. This indicates that the purchasing process has not gained the expected momentum in certain regions.
The rice procurement campaign commenced on December 15, 2025, with the aim of providing better prices to farmers. This year, the rate was set at ₹2,450 per quintal, which includes an incentive amount. This rate is higher than last year’s ₹2,400 per quintal. So far, farmers have received a total payment of ₹784.43 crore, including ₹24.16 crore as incentive.
To facilitate direct purchases from farmers, 801 procurement centers have been established across the state. However, procedural and systemic hurdles at the ground level have hindered the pace of procurement. Despite these challenges, there has been a notable improvement in rice procurement compared to previous years.
In the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, only 29 percent of the target was achieved, while this increased to 67 percent (40.8 lakh quintals) in 2024-25. This year, approximately 77 percent of the target has been met so far, marking the best performance in the last four years.
Experts believe that the increase in rates and the active role of procurement centers have boosted the procurement speed. However, due to administrative sluggishness in some districts, achieving the full target still seems a distant goal.
My name is Narendra Jijhontiya. I am an experienced content writer with several years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including TECHNOLOGY, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
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