Lucknow: Protecting farmers’ interests and ensuring smooth, transparent paddy procurement will remain the Uttar Pradesh government’s top priorities, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Manoj Kumar Pandey said during a meeting with representatives of recognised rice millers’ associations and senior departmental officials.
The meeting, held at the minister’s office in Bapu Bhawan, Lucknow, focused on addressing operational challenges related to paddy procurement during the Kharif Marketing Season 2026-27. Pandey directed officials to examine the concerns raised by millers and ensure time-bound solutions in accordance with applicable rules and policies.
Representatives raised several issues, including milling incentives, rice recovery rates, mill allotment and online linkage, delivery of Custom Milled Rice (CMR), storage, transportation, holding charges and pending payments.
Millers Seek Higher Incentives
A key demand was the restoration of milling incentives discontinued for the 2026-27 season. Associations proposed increasing the incentive from the earlier rate of ₹35 per quintal to ₹50 or ₹100 per quintal. The minister instructed officials to examine the proposals from financial and policy perspectives.
Millers also sought an increase in the permissible relaxation in rice recovery from hybrid paddy milling from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent, along with a review of compensation provisions. Officials were asked to assess these demands against existing standards and applicable policies.
The meeting also discussed simplifying the online process for linking rice mills with procurement agencies. Millers suggested retaining automated allotment while allowing manual linkage where local circumstances require it. The minister directed officials to review the system and prevent unnecessary disruptions to procurement operations.
CMR Delivery and Pending Payments
Millers highlighted delays in delivering CMR to Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses during the previous procurement season, citing inadequate storage space, shortages of fortified rice kernels (FRK) and gunny bags, and other logistical constraints. They sought the release of pending incentives and relief from holding charges and other deductions in cases affected by such issues.
Pandey directed officials to examine these cases impartially and take appropriate action under the rules wherever millers were not responsible for the delays.
Other issues discussed included the delivery and storage of rice containing 10 per cent broken grains and 15 per cent broken rice, pending payments from procurement agencies, gunny bag usage charges and other milling-related concerns.
Farmers’ Registration and Procurement Transparency
The meeting also examined discrepancies between farmer registration records and AgriStack data, errors in plot identification details and problems associated with the linkage of procurement centres.
The minister said eligible farmers should not face difficulties in selling their produce because of technical or procedural hurdles. He instructed officials to maintain transparency in farmer registration, weighing, lifting, transportation and payment processes. Complaints of irregularities or unnecessary interference at procurement centres, he added, should be taken seriously and dealt with according to the rules.
Pandey emphasised that the government’s approach was to balance farmers’ interests with the legitimate operational requirements of rice millers. He called for better coordination among farmers, millers, procurement agencies and departmental officials, with all stakeholders discharging their responsibilities transparently and accountably.
He said the prosperity of farmers and the strengthening of Uttar Pradesh’s rice industry were complementary objectives, and the government sought to ensure fair prices for farmers while providing millers with an enabling environment to operate efficiently.
Senior officials present included Anil Kumar, Principal Secretary and Commissioner, Food and Civil Supplies Department; Anita Verma Singh, Special Secretary; Kamta Prasad, Additional Commissioner (Food and Civil Supplies); Satyadev, Additional Commissioner; and Ashok Kumar Pal of the RFC Headquarters, along with other departmental officials and representatives of rice millers’ associations.
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