The Congress in Chhattisgarh on Thursday demanded extension of the paddy procurement drive in the state till March 1. State unit chief Deepak Baij said in a statement that more than five lakh farmers are yet to sell their produce. The procurement drive, started on November 1 last year, is scheduled to end on January 31. After the formation of new BJP government in December last year, it ordered to procure 21 quintals of paddy per acre. A large number of farmers had already sold 20 quintals paddy per acre as fixed by the previous Congress government and they are yet to sell the additional one quintal paddy per acre, he said. The previous Congress government had set a target of purchasing 135 lakh tonnes of paddy in the Kharif marketing season 2023-24. Now, after the decision to purchase 21 quintals per acre, the procurement target should also increase, Baij said, adding that at least 150 lakh tonnes should be bough from farmers. Therefore, the paddy procurement drive should be extended by a month, he said.

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