Patna: The Bihar government has completed 87% of its targeted paddy procurement for the 2024-25 financial year, with 39.23 lakh metric tonnes of paddy already purchased through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Cooperative Minister Prem Kumar announced on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference here, he said that farmers who sold their paddy via PACS had received payments within 48 hours.
With the paddy procurement drive nearing completion, the government is now preparing for wheat procurement, which is set to begin on April 1. So far, 24,324 farmers have registered to sell their wheat. The state has also increased the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat from Rs 2,275 per quintal to Rs 2,425 per quintal for the current financial year.
Government Committed to 100% Procurement
Minister Prem Kumar reaffirmed the government’s commitment to purchasing wheat from all registered farmers, stating that the entire procurement process is being conducted through an online portal to ensure transparency.
Expanding Storage Infrastructure
The Cooperative Department has completed the construction of 7,056 warehouses across the state, adding a storage capacity of 15.67 lakh metric tonnes. Additionally, work is underway on 325 more warehouses at a cost of Rs 169 crore in 2023-24, while 259 new warehouses will be built in 2024-25 with an allocation of Rs 147 crore. Once completed, these facilities will add another 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of storage capacity.
New Cooperative Initiatives
The state government is planning to establish primary vegetable cooperative societies in 534 blocks across all 38 districts, linking them to nine newly formed unions. Inspired by the dairy cooperative model of Sudha, the government aims to set up vegetable outlets in various blocks with the support of Wazfed and Comfed.
The minister also announced plans to develop onion storage facilities in key producing districts and construct a ‘Hub Mother’ warehouse at the district level to facilitate the export of vegetables to other states.
Incentives for Top-Performing PACS
Under the Mukhyamantri Adarsh PACS Promotion Scheme, the state will reward well-performing PACS. At the state level, the best-performing PACS will receive Rs 15 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 7 lakh for the first, second, and third positions, respectively. At the district level, the top three PACS will be awarded Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 2 lakh.
International Cooperative Year 2025
With the United Nations designating 2025 as the International Cooperative Year, Bihar is set to organise various events at the state, district, and block levels. Planned activities include a tree plantation drive, youth awareness campaigns, cooperative conferences on skill development and women’s empowerment, and workshops to encourage PACS membership.
Also present at the press conference were Cooperative Department Secretary Dharmendra Singh, Cooperative Societies Manager Inayat Khan, Additional Secretary Abhay Kumar Singh, Additional Registrar Prabhat Kumar, and Bihar State Cooperative Bank Managing Director Manoj Kumar Singh.
